Post by todd on Dec 14, 2010 7:01:17 GMT -4
This is awesome news
By RONALD BLUM and STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writers
NEW YORK (AP) - Turns out the Philadelphia Phillies do have enough money for both Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay - and Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, too.
A year after Phillies traded him away, Lee chose to rejoin them and form a fearsome foursome that is the envy of all of baseball.
The free-agent pitcher passed up an extra $50 million from the New York Yankees and reached a preliminary agreement on a $100 million, five-year contract with the Phillies on Monday night, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
The agreement is subject to the 32-year-old left-hander passing a physical, the person said on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not final.
The Yankees and Texas Rangers had been considered the front-runners, but the Phillies wound up with the most-prized free agent of the offseason, reaching a deal that gives them a dominant rotation that likely is the strongest in the majors.
Lee, the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner, joins Halladay, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who won the NL honor last month.
After Lee helped the defending champion Phillies reach the 2009 World Series, he was sent to Seattle in a four-team, nine-player trade last Dec. 16 that brought Halladay to Philadelphia. Halladay signed a new contract that added $60 million over three seasons, the same average salary Lee will get.
Seattle traded Lee to Texas in July, and Lee pitched the Rangers into the World Series for the first time.
The Phillies have been considering trading pitcher Joe Blanton and/or outfielder Raul Ibanez to clear payroll space, a person familiar with Philadelphia's deliberations. said. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because those talks were ongoing.
By RONALD BLUM and STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writers
NEW YORK (AP) - Turns out the Philadelphia Phillies do have enough money for both Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay - and Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, too.
A year after Phillies traded him away, Lee chose to rejoin them and form a fearsome foursome that is the envy of all of baseball.
The free-agent pitcher passed up an extra $50 million from the New York Yankees and reached a preliminary agreement on a $100 million, five-year contract with the Phillies on Monday night, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
The agreement is subject to the 32-year-old left-hander passing a physical, the person said on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not final.
The Yankees and Texas Rangers had been considered the front-runners, but the Phillies wound up with the most-prized free agent of the offseason, reaching a deal that gives them a dominant rotation that likely is the strongest in the majors.
Lee, the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner, joins Halladay, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who won the NL honor last month.
After Lee helped the defending champion Phillies reach the 2009 World Series, he was sent to Seattle in a four-team, nine-player trade last Dec. 16 that brought Halladay to Philadelphia. Halladay signed a new contract that added $60 million over three seasons, the same average salary Lee will get.
Seattle traded Lee to Texas in July, and Lee pitched the Rangers into the World Series for the first time.
The Phillies have been considering trading pitcher Joe Blanton and/or outfielder Raul Ibanez to clear payroll space, a person familiar with Philadelphia's deliberations. said. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because those talks were ongoing.