MLB Tribune

Yankees Close to Signing Cliff Lee!

by Scooter on 07/09/2010 in MLB News, MLB Trade Rumors

Sadness in one city (Cleveland) and celebration of sorts in and around New York if the Yankees sign Cliff Lee. This move makes the Yankees a lock to repeat as World Series Champions and another parade down Broadway. Good news for New York fans, but not a good day in Cleveland after LeBron James has departed after 7 years.

Seattle is ready to deal Lee to the AL East leading New York Yankees for a Catching prospect Jesus Montero and second base prospect David Adams will head to the Mariners, possibly with another prospect, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who broke the story. The Yankees are a team that is all about winning and of course not allowing any team in contention to sign Lee. The Tampa Bay Rays are 2 games behind the Yankees and were in the mix for Lee’s service.

The Yankees’ trade package, which Sherman tweeted the Mariners liked (ooh, la la!), would include 20-year-old catcher Jesus Montero, who shot up the Baseball America prospect rankings after he turned in a .951 OPS between the Class A Florida State League and the Class AA Eastern League in 2009.

The Yanks rotation of Sabathia, Hughes, Pettitte and Vazquez are considered one of the best rotations in baseball. The Yankees are ranked 7th in ERA 3.86) and 3^rd in batting average against with .241.

1:27pm: The Yankees have offered Montero, Adams and a third prospect, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). It’s now up to the Mariners to accept or decline the offer.

Cliff Lee will soon wake up in a city, that doesn’t sleep. And find he is king of the hill and top of the heap.