Cliff Lee trade rumors: Dodgers, Cardinals may have interest
By Bryan Rose
The Philadelphia Phillies are more than open to trade former ace pitcher Cliff Lee. But there are a few problems with that, namely his price tag and salary.
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It was reported on Tuesday that rival teams attempting acquire Lee felt as if the Philadelphia Phillies were asking for too big of a return given Lee’s age, injury concern and albatross of a salary. The Phillies meanwhile are open to paying a significant portion of Cliff Lee’s salary in hopes of being able to nab a high-level prospect in a trade.
Will they be able to make such a deal though? That’s the million dollar question (or $48 million in the case of Lee) though the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers could have interest in a deal according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
"One team that’s looking for a starting pitcher is the Cardinals, but they’d need quite a bit of Lee’s salary paid down to consider such a deal, as they pay their ace Adam Wainwright less than $20 million per season. The Dodgers have shown interest in Lee in the past."
While the St. Louis Cardinals would be a nice fit for Cliff Lee, it’s hard to imagine them paying much (if any) of Lee’s salary nor giving up a decent prospect for the Phillies pitcher. As for the Los Angeles Dodgers, they could be a suitor if the Phillies were to eat most of Lee’s contract, however they appear more enamored with Jon Lester, John Lackey and David Price understandably.
If Cliff Lee isn’t traded by Thursday’s deadline, there is some expectation that he may be dealt after given no team would claim him off waivers.