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By Buster Olney
ESPN The Magazine
A trade that would have sent Mariners left-hander Cliff Lee to the Yankees has broken down after the teams couldn't agree on the second player to be dealt, a source said Friday.
The Mariners had been pushing hard to complete the trade, and an executive involved in the trade talks said earlier Friday the deal was "just about done."
But disagreement arose over a second player that would have gone to the Mariners, after the Yankees were content on sending prospect David Adams, a second baseman.
The Mariners had also been talking with the Rays, Twins, Rangers, Reds and other teams, and news that the Yankees were on the verge of getting Lee -- first reported by the New York Post -- could have spurred one of the other teams to strengthen their offer.
But all along, the Yankees have believed no other team matched up better than they would with Seattle in a Lee deal because they are offering top prospect Jesus Montero, who figures to have a long and productive career as a hitter regardless of whether he plays catcher or first base.
In addition to Montero and Adams, a third player could have been added.
A baseball official with knowledge of the Yankees' thinking told ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand they viewed Montero as a plus-hitter and think he has improved his catching skills, though, among other things, he needs work on his accuracy on throws to second base despite his powerful arm. The Yankees also liked Double-A prospect Austin Romine and project him as a possible .275, 20-homer catcher. If they traded Montero, Romine would have made the move easier for the organization to absorb.
But the lingering question in their internal debate had been whether expending a trade piece such as Montero would be worthwhile, and in recent seasons, the Yankees have passed on acquiring Johan Santana, CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay under similar circumstances. And the Yankees' rotation is good enough to win without Lee.
But the Yankees knew that one of the AL East powers was going to be on the outside looking in at the conclusion of the regular-season jockeying, and they saw first-hand last October just how good Lee can be.
They have been well aware of the potential impact of Lee in another contender's rotation, as he was in helping the Philadelphia Phillies reach the World Series for the second straight season.
The Mariners might have felt compelled to move Lee for a couple of reasons. First, the sooner they move him, the more they can extract in their asking price. And secondly, there is always the inherent risk that Lee, who has had multiple abdominal strains in his career, could get hurt, which would gut his trade value.
Lee might be the closest thing baseball has seen to a sure thing on the trade market in years, because he demonstrated in 2009, after being traded from the Indians to the Phillies, that he is capable of pitching well in a pennant race, and that he responds well while on the postseason stage.
The Twins would look like a different team with Lee joining Francisco Liriano and Scott Baker at the front end of their rotation, and the Texas Rangers would become a more viable threat in the postseason.
The Twins were strongly considering including their top catching prospect, Wilson Ramos, in an offer, an official with knowledge of their thinking told ESPNNewYork.com's Marchand. With Joe Mauer in the fold, Ramos is expendable. The Twins know they would likely lose Lee in free agency, but have reasoned that they could make up for Ramos' loss with the extra draft pick.
If the Rays had stepped outside of their necessarily disciplined approach -- which has worked exceedingly well for them -- and acquired Lee for Jeremy Hellickson, or Wade Davis and Desmond Jennings, then they would have gone into the postseason with the extraordinary rotation of Lee, David Price and Jeff Niemann, with Matt Garza perhaps free to work out of the bullpen.
On Wednesday night, the Mariners had thrown a huge asking price at the Yankees and the Yankees said no. But then Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik doubled back Thursday and lowered his demands around Montero.
So now the Yankees could have a rotation of Sabathia, Lee, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett. Presumably, they could trade Javier Vazquez to a contender in the next 72 hours.
The Phillies could be a front-runner, and they've made outfielder Jayson Werth available in the past.
Talks between the Yankees and Mariners didn't include discussion of a negotiating window on a contract extension for Lee, and there won't be, a source said.
Lee was scheduled to pitch against the Yankees on Friday night in Seattle opposite Hughes.
ESPN The Magazine
A trade that would have sent Mariners left-hander Cliff Lee to the Yankees has broken down after the teams couldn't agree on the second player to be dealt, a source said Friday.
The Mariners had been pushing hard to complete the trade, and an executive involved in the trade talks said earlier Friday the deal was "just about done."
But disagreement arose over a second player that would have gone to the Mariners, after the Yankees were content on sending prospect David Adams, a second baseman.
The Mariners had also been talking with the Rays, Twins, Rangers, Reds and other teams, and news that the Yankees were on the verge of getting Lee -- first reported by the New York Post -- could have spurred one of the other teams to strengthen their offer.
But all along, the Yankees have believed no other team matched up better than they would with Seattle in a Lee deal because they are offering top prospect Jesus Montero, who figures to have a long and productive career as a hitter regardless of whether he plays catcher or first base.
In addition to Montero and Adams, a third player could have been added.
A baseball official with knowledge of the Yankees' thinking told ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand they viewed Montero as a plus-hitter and think he has improved his catching skills, though, among other things, he needs work on his accuracy on throws to second base despite his powerful arm. The Yankees also liked Double-A prospect Austin Romine and project him as a possible .275, 20-homer catcher. If they traded Montero, Romine would have made the move easier for the organization to absorb.
But the lingering question in their internal debate had been whether expending a trade piece such as Montero would be worthwhile, and in recent seasons, the Yankees have passed on acquiring Johan Santana, CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay under similar circumstances. And the Yankees' rotation is good enough to win without Lee.
But the Yankees knew that one of the AL East powers was going to be on the outside looking in at the conclusion of the regular-season jockeying, and they saw first-hand last October just how good Lee can be.
They have been well aware of the potential impact of Lee in another contender's rotation, as he was in helping the Philadelphia Phillies reach the World Series for the second straight season.
The Mariners might have felt compelled to move Lee for a couple of reasons. First, the sooner they move him, the more they can extract in their asking price. And secondly, there is always the inherent risk that Lee, who has had multiple abdominal strains in his career, could get hurt, which would gut his trade value.
Lee might be the closest thing baseball has seen to a sure thing on the trade market in years, because he demonstrated in 2009, after being traded from the Indians to the Phillies, that he is capable of pitching well in a pennant race, and that he responds well while on the postseason stage.
The Twins would look like a different team with Lee joining Francisco Liriano and Scott Baker at the front end of their rotation, and the Texas Rangers would become a more viable threat in the postseason.
The Twins were strongly considering including their top catching prospect, Wilson Ramos, in an offer, an official with knowledge of their thinking told ESPNNewYork.com's Marchand. With Joe Mauer in the fold, Ramos is expendable. The Twins know they would likely lose Lee in free agency, but have reasoned that they could make up for Ramos' loss with the extra draft pick.
If the Rays had stepped outside of their necessarily disciplined approach -- which has worked exceedingly well for them -- and acquired Lee for Jeremy Hellickson, or Wade Davis and Desmond Jennings, then they would have gone into the postseason with the extraordinary rotation of Lee, David Price and Jeff Niemann, with Matt Garza perhaps free to work out of the bullpen.
On Wednesday night, the Mariners had thrown a huge asking price at the Yankees and the Yankees said no. But then Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik doubled back Thursday and lowered his demands around Montero.
So now the Yankees could have a rotation of Sabathia, Lee, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett. Presumably, they could trade Javier Vazquez to a contender in the next 72 hours.
The Phillies could be a front-runner, and they've made outfielder Jayson Werth available in the past.
Talks between the Yankees and Mariners didn't include discussion of a negotiating window on a contract extension for Lee, and there won't be, a source said.
Lee was scheduled to pitch against the Yankees on Friday night in Seattle opposite Hughes.
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