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Rangers get Lee from Mariners for Smoak
Cliff Lee was going to a contender no matter what. Turns out it was the Texas Rangers, not the New York Yankees.
"Just heard from [Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik]," Lee texted to ESPN The Magazine's Amy K. Nelson. "It's official. From last [place] to first."
After talks between the Seattle Mariners and Yanks fell apart Friday afternoon, the Rangers jumped in and reached agreement on a trade for the left-hander.
The M's sent Lee and reliever Mark Lowe to Texas for first baseman Justin Smoak and minor leaguers Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke and Matthew Lawson.
The Mariners will also send $2.25 million to the Rangers to subsidize the $4.2 million still owed to Lee. Texas has financial limitations due to bankruptcy hearings associated with the sale of the team. There has been speculation the Rangers -- despite leading the AL West -- would not be able to add weapons for the stretch run.
And there still could be trouble. An anonymous official of an MLB team said the Rangers taking on $1.5 million in salary "is going to be an issue" since the team is currently being run by the league. It is not clear if the bankruptcy court would allow the team to take on that kind of debt.
"It makes us better," club president Nolan Ryan said. "We have a guy that gives us another pitcher from the left side, a proven starter, an innings eater. Because of those things, those attributes, he's going to bring a presence to us and the rest of the pitching staff."
The Rangers traded away some young to get an ace for the rotation. Lee is 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA. He has walked just six batters in 103 2/3 innings to go along with 89 strikeouts. He won the 2008 American League Cy Young Award with Cleveland in 2008 and over his nine seasons he's compiled a 98-55 record with a 3.84 ERA.
"Cliff was a No 1 guy on our board that we wanted to acquire," said general manager Jon Daniels, who compared his impact to that of the club when it signed Ryan to a contract in 1989. "We haven't won anything yet, but we feel like we're in position to put our best foot forward. It's going to be very competitive in our division."
Daniels turned to manager Ron Washington, seated on his right during the press conference, and said he'd given him a few more pieces to play with.
Washington told the Ranger players in a team meeting hours before the scheduled start of Friday's game with Baltimore. When asked what the reaction was, Washington just pumped his fist.
"Those guys have always been even-keeled, but you could see the excitement in their faces," Washington said.
It's unusual for a team to trade a start pitcher within it's own division, but the Mariners have been a huge disappointment. Heading into Friday's action, they trailed the Rangers by 16 games.
Daniels said it was bittersweet to trade away players the organization felt can be impact players in the future, including Smoak, who was the club's starting first baseman. The switch hitter was the Rangers' No. 1 pick in 2008 (11th overall), but has struggled this season in the big leagues. He's hitting .209 with eight homers and 34 RBIs in 70 games. Daniels said he expects Smoak to start for the Mariners on Saturday. Beavan was also a first round selection, picked up 17th overall from Irving High School in the Dallas area. The Rangers paid above slot for both players at the time.
By dealing in the division, Daniels also knows he could see those young players produce against the Rangers in the future.
"It's tougher as the buyer to trade in the division in regard that these guys are going to be in Seattle for six, 10, 15 years, you never know," he said. "You think about that."
By trading for Lee now, the Rangers potentially gain four more starts from the lefty than they would have gotten if the acquired him at the trade deadline. If his travel plans work out, he should be on the mound for the Rangers Saturday night against the Orioles.
When asked how he felt about the deal, Lee texted "good I guess. Gonna be on a very good team. Definitely gonna be hot!"
Texas gets a big boost in its quest for its first playoff berth since 1999.
"We haven't won anything yet but we feel like we're in position to put our best foot forward," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "We've always said if we had a chance to improve, we would. We're excited about it."
The Yankees had offered Seattle a three-player package, centered around catcher Jesus Montero -- who is rated as one of the best prospects in baseball, despite questions about whether he can be a catcher in the big leagues -- second baseman David Adams and a young prospect.
But the deal began to unravel, a source told ESPN.com, when the Mariners became concerned about the health of Adams, who is out with a sprained ankle.
A source told ESPN.com that Seattle and Texas were very close to a deal for Lee on Wednesday. But the Mariners were pushing for Smoak, the Rangers balked and the deal stalled.
So on Thursday, the Mariners turned their attention to the Yankees and began closing in on that deal. But when those talks blew up, the Rangers -- who by then were aware of all the reports about that Seattle-New York deal -- got back into the picture and agreed to trade Smoak. So the pieces came together very quickly at that point because the two teams almost had a deal done 48 hours earlier.
And now Lee is on his way to Arlington.
"Bout to go get my stuff from the field," he texted. "Gonna miss my teammates and coaching staff! Good people!"
Daniels said he just couldn't pass up the chance to get a quality starter who can front the rotation for the rest of the season. Ryan said it was too early to say whether the club could re-sign Lee in the offseason if the Greenberg-Ryan group ends up owning the team. The ownership situation remains in flux.
Lowe was added to the deal more for future years. He has two more years of club control and is currently on the disabled list with lower back inflammation. He had microdiscectomy surgery on his back on June 15 and Daniels said it's more about getting him ready for next season.
Right-hander David Pauley got the start for the Mariners in Lee's place on Friday night against the Yankees. The Rangers called up Chris Davis to play first base.
Source: AP
"Just heard from [Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik]," Lee texted to ESPN The Magazine's Amy K. Nelson. "It's official. From last [place] to first."
After talks between the Seattle Mariners and Yanks fell apart Friday afternoon, the Rangers jumped in and reached agreement on a trade for the left-hander.
The M's sent Lee and reliever Mark Lowe to Texas for first baseman Justin Smoak and minor leaguers Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke and Matthew Lawson.
The Mariners will also send $2.25 million to the Rangers to subsidize the $4.2 million still owed to Lee. Texas has financial limitations due to bankruptcy hearings associated with the sale of the team. There has been speculation the Rangers -- despite leading the AL West -- would not be able to add weapons for the stretch run.
And there still could be trouble. An anonymous official of an MLB team said the Rangers taking on $1.5 million in salary "is going to be an issue" since the team is currently being run by the league. It is not clear if the bankruptcy court would allow the team to take on that kind of debt.
"It makes us better," club president Nolan Ryan said. "We have a guy that gives us another pitcher from the left side, a proven starter, an innings eater. Because of those things, those attributes, he's going to bring a presence to us and the rest of the pitching staff."
The Rangers traded away some young to get an ace for the rotation. Lee is 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA. He has walked just six batters in 103 2/3 innings to go along with 89 strikeouts. He won the 2008 American League Cy Young Award with Cleveland in 2008 and over his nine seasons he's compiled a 98-55 record with a 3.84 ERA.
"Cliff was a No 1 guy on our board that we wanted to acquire," said general manager Jon Daniels, who compared his impact to that of the club when it signed Ryan to a contract in 1989. "We haven't won anything yet, but we feel like we're in position to put our best foot forward. It's going to be very competitive in our division."
Daniels turned to manager Ron Washington, seated on his right during the press conference, and said he'd given him a few more pieces to play with.
Washington told the Ranger players in a team meeting hours before the scheduled start of Friday's game with Baltimore. When asked what the reaction was, Washington just pumped his fist.
"Those guys have always been even-keeled, but you could see the excitement in their faces," Washington said.
It's unusual for a team to trade a start pitcher within it's own division, but the Mariners have been a huge disappointment. Heading into Friday's action, they trailed the Rangers by 16 games.
Daniels said it was bittersweet to trade away players the organization felt can be impact players in the future, including Smoak, who was the club's starting first baseman. The switch hitter was the Rangers' No. 1 pick in 2008 (11th overall), but has struggled this season in the big leagues. He's hitting .209 with eight homers and 34 RBIs in 70 games. Daniels said he expects Smoak to start for the Mariners on Saturday. Beavan was also a first round selection, picked up 17th overall from Irving High School in the Dallas area. The Rangers paid above slot for both players at the time.
By dealing in the division, Daniels also knows he could see those young players produce against the Rangers in the future.
"It's tougher as the buyer to trade in the division in regard that these guys are going to be in Seattle for six, 10, 15 years, you never know," he said. "You think about that."
By trading for Lee now, the Rangers potentially gain four more starts from the lefty than they would have gotten if the acquired him at the trade deadline. If his travel plans work out, he should be on the mound for the Rangers Saturday night against the Orioles.
When asked how he felt about the deal, Lee texted "good I guess. Gonna be on a very good team. Definitely gonna be hot!"
Texas gets a big boost in its quest for its first playoff berth since 1999.
"We haven't won anything yet but we feel like we're in position to put our best foot forward," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "We've always said if we had a chance to improve, we would. We're excited about it."
The Yankees had offered Seattle a three-player package, centered around catcher Jesus Montero -- who is rated as one of the best prospects in baseball, despite questions about whether he can be a catcher in the big leagues -- second baseman David Adams and a young prospect.
But the deal began to unravel, a source told ESPN.com, when the Mariners became concerned about the health of Adams, who is out with a sprained ankle.
A source told ESPN.com that Seattle and Texas were very close to a deal for Lee on Wednesday. But the Mariners were pushing for Smoak, the Rangers balked and the deal stalled.
So on Thursday, the Mariners turned their attention to the Yankees and began closing in on that deal. But when those talks blew up, the Rangers -- who by then were aware of all the reports about that Seattle-New York deal -- got back into the picture and agreed to trade Smoak. So the pieces came together very quickly at that point because the two teams almost had a deal done 48 hours earlier.
And now Lee is on his way to Arlington.
"Bout to go get my stuff from the field," he texted. "Gonna miss my teammates and coaching staff! Good people!"
Daniels said he just couldn't pass up the chance to get a quality starter who can front the rotation for the rest of the season. Ryan said it was too early to say whether the club could re-sign Lee in the offseason if the Greenberg-Ryan group ends up owning the team. The ownership situation remains in flux.
Lowe was added to the deal more for future years. He has two more years of club control and is currently on the disabled list with lower back inflammation. He had microdiscectomy surgery on his back on June 15 and Daniels said it's more about getting him ready for next season.
Right-hander David Pauley got the start for the Mariners in Lee's place on Friday night against the Yankees. The Rangers called up Chris Davis to play first base.
Source: AP