Report: Cliff Lee Claimed off Waivers, Joe Blanton Traded to Dodgers

The Philadelphia Phillies have continued remaking their roster after trading Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino at the trade deadline. For the first time in years, the Phillies were sellers at the trade deadline, and more moves have been made today.  

Joe Blanton was put on waivers by the Phillies, and the Dodgers then claimed and traded for the right-handed starting pitcher. The Phillies will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations. Blanton was expected to be traded at the trade deadline, but a deal with the Orioles fell through due to monetary issues.  

The Blanton move was expected. A more interesting story, however, is developing about Cliff Lee. Yesterday, the Phillies put Lee on waivers, with most expecting him to not be claimed because of his large contract.

But according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports, Lee has not cleared waivers. In Heyman’s tweet, no specifics were given, so Lee’s situation is currently up in the air.

If Heyman’s report is true, the Phillies will either have to pull Lee off waivers, let him leave or negotiate a deal with the team who claimed him.  

Updates will come as more details are released about Lee being claimed off of waivers.  

 

UPDATE 6:10 p.m. ET: Well, apparently the Red Sox are not the team who claimed Lee. 

UPDATE 8:32 p.m. ET: ESPN is reporting that the Dodgers are the team who claimed Lee. More to follow.

UPDATE 10:31 p.m. ET: Jon Heyman, CBS’s baseball insider who first broke the news of Lee getting claimed, tweeted that completing a trade for Lee is not very likely to happen. If a deal is not worked out, Lee would then just stay with the Phillies. If Lee was to be put on waivers a second time, the Phillies would not be able to pull him off like they can now, so Lee will almost definitely stay with Philadelphia for the remainder of this season.  

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Will Phillies, Yankees Still Be Able to Win Titles with Payroll-Conscious Plans?

According to USA Today, no two teams in Major League Baseball are spending more money this season than the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. The Bombers top the league with a payroll of around $198 million, and the Phillies are just behind them at around $175 million.

Here’s the thing, though: These numbers are on their way down. Such is the plan for both clubs.

It’s been common knowledge for a while now that the Yankees are looking to curb their high-spending ways. Hal Steinbrenner said back in March, via ESPNNewYork.com, that he wants to get the club’s payroll under the $189 million luxury tax threshold that will kick in in 2014, a tall order for a club that has been operating with payrolls over $200 million for several years now.

The Yankees started the season with a payroll right around $210 million. With Nick Swisher, Russell Martin, Hiroki Kuroda and Mariano Rivera (who could be re-signed at a bargain price) coming off the books after this season, the Bombers stand to save a lot of money. Good news for them.

The Phillies are also headed in that direction. They committed a lot of money to Cole Hamels when they signed him to a $144 million extension, but they cleared some payroll by trading away Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence at the deadline.

According to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, these moves allowed the Phillies to get under the $178 million luxury tax threshold for this season:

Phillies are slightly under luxury tax limit now, Amaro says.

— Matt Gelb (@magelb) July 31, 2012

So for both clubs, things are going according to plan. Yankees and Phillies fans can rest easy knowing that their clubs are doing their utmost to avoid paying money as a penalty for spending too much money.

But…Wait a second, is this really a good thing? The high-spending ways of these two clubs in recent years has led to a lot of extra wins. And we are, indeed, talking about two of the past four World Series champions. 

The big question: Can the Yankees and Phillies still hope to compete for championships even as they come back to the rest of the pack financially?

It’s obviously not going to be easy, as neither club is going to be able to go out and patch up holes by dishing out large contracts to established stars. That’s a habit that both clubs have been guilty of in recent seasons, and it’s clear now that this habit is something of a double-edged sword.

But keep in mind that the Yankees have been at this for a lot longer than the Phillies. The Phillies are actually relatively new to the whole bloated payroll thing.

When the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, they did it with a payroll of under $100 million. They built a championship team not by signing free agents, but mainly by drafting and developing.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, four of the Phillies’ six best players in terms of WAR in 2008 were acquired via the amateur draft. Their names: Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell and Ryan Howard. Hamels, their best pitcher, was also acquired via the draft.

The best free-agent signee the Phillies had that year was Jayson Werth, who was being paid only $1.7 million. 

The 2008 Phillies go to show that it’s a lot more cost effective to develop your own star players than it is to go out and acquire them from elsewhere. After all, the best thing about young stars is that they’re cheap.

The Phillies are where they are now because their own star players have earned big paydays in recent years. Howard is now making $20 million per year. Hamels is making $15 million per year, and will make $20 million per year after this season. Utley is also making $15 million per year, and Rollins is making $11 million per year.

Those players alone are making $61 million in 2012, over half of the Phillies’ entire payroll in 2008.

The Phillies have pushed their payroll to the luxury tax limit by spending money on free agents like Cliff Lee and Jonathan Papelbon, and they also traded for Roy Halladay and then signed him to a lucrative contract extension. 

They essentially took a page out of the Yankees’ book. Once they had established a winning team that was built via the draft and bargain free agent and trade acquisitions, they started throwing money at it in an attempt to keep the wins coming. Like a bad drinking habit, they simply let it get out of control (the Papelbon contract was the last straw).

The problem they’re facing now is that some of the players making the big bucks (Utley, Howard, Halladay) are getting up there in age, and are probably no longer capable of being worth the money they’re being paid. To make matters worse, the Phillies’ farm system has taken a hit over the years thanks to the high-profile trades Ruben Amaro pulled off in 2009 (Lee), 2010 (Halladay) and 2011 (Pence).

Since the Phillies are going to be stuck with a high payroll for the foreseeable future, Amaro is going to have to fill out his roster with players who are both talented and cheap. He’s gotten himself on the right track in this regard, as he got some good young players in the Victorino and Pence trades.

The Phillies should be able to contend in 2013, especially if they find a way to keep Lee around without compromising the team’s chances of staying under the luxury tax threshold in 2013. The odds of them contending for a championship, however, are not high due to the fact that key players like Utley, Howard and Rollins are no longer superstar-level players. 

The Phillies need new superstars, and it’s in their interest to develop them rather than sign them. They may be able to go all-out for a World Series title one last time in 2013, but one way or another the Phillies are going to have to embrace a youth movement very, very soon.

The Yankees are facing a similar quandary going forward. They’re not going to be able to rid themselves of the contracts of Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, which will account for over $73 million in 2013, around $70 million in 2014, around $66 million in 2015 and so on.

And while it’s true that the Yankees will be able to save money this offseason by not re-signing Swisher, Martin and Kuroda and bringing back Rivera at a bargain price if they so choose, they’re getting to a point where they’re going to have to decide whether to sign Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson to extensions.

If they do, they’re likely going to have over $100 million committed to just five players heading into the 2014 season. 

That’s going to leave them with a relatively small amount of wiggle room to fill out the rest of their roster, and it can be taken for granted that they’ll be wary of signing high-priced free agents due to their fear of crossing the luxury tax threshold. Don’t expect another spending spree like the one the Yankees went on before the 2009 season, when they committed over $400 million to Teixeira, Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. 

The Yankees are already sending signals that this will be the case. Brian Cashman said recently, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, that the club has no interest in going after Cliff Lee. They simply don’t want to take on another gigantic contract.

From here on out, a typical Yankees offseason will probably more closely resemble this past offseason. The Yankees made a move to acquire a young pitcher in Michael Pineda, signed Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year deal worth $10 million that looks like a bargain now, and rounded out their bench by signing up Andruw Jones, Eric Chavez and Raul Ibanez, players who have given the Yankees great value for relatively little money.

It was an efficient offseason, in retrospect, something that we’re not used to seeing from the Yankees. Look for them to make a habit out of this as long as they’re dealing with the burden of so many heavy contracts left over from their more foolhardy years.

The bright side is that the Yankees are showing this season that they can win games without breaking the bank for free agents every offseason. They didn’t act like the Yankees over the winter, but they’re still the Yankees.

However, in many ways the Yankees are in the same boat as the Phillies in that they’re wrapped around a core of players who are older and a lot less valuable than they once were. A-Rod is no longer an elite player. The same goes for Derek Jeter. Sabathia has been more hittable than usual this season. Teixeira has been productive, but he’s nowhere close to the player he was in 2009 and years prior.

This core wasn’t good enough to get the Yankees to the World Series in 2010 or 2011. It’s doubtful that it will be good enough to do the trick in 2012.

So like the Phillies, the Yankees are going to have to mix in more and more younger, more affordable star players in the near future. The good news for them is that they’re in a better position to do this than the Phillies, as the Yankees’ farm system is typically regarded as being pretty strong. Some homegrown stars could be making a difference for the Yankees very soon, and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Cashman makes more trades similar to the Pineda-for-Jesus Montero swap.

What it will come down to for both the Phillies and the Yankees in the coming years is this: If they’re going to be cheap, they’re going to have to be smart. The boorish tactic of throwing money at problems will no longer be an option, meaning they’ll actually have to worry themselves with getting good value out of the dollars they’re spending for once.

Right now, both clubs are in a tight spot because both of them have so much money committed to players who simply aren’t worth it. The only way for both clubs to account for that is by trimming as much payroll as they possibly can while constantly being on the lookout for cheap, controllable players who have the potential to outperform small contracts.

The Phillies seem to understand this, and the Yankees have made it plenty clear in recent months that they have understood this for some time now.

The question remains: Can they win titles with payroll-conscious plans?

I don’t see why not. Spending a ton of money hasn’t exactly worked for the Phillies in the last couple of seasons, so it actually bodes well for them that they’re moving towards backing off on their spending. The organization was at its best when it didn’t have a bloated payroll. It’s headed toward a return to the good old days.

It’s hard to imagine the Yankees’ payroll sinking very far below the coveted $189 million mark, as they’re always going to be spending as much money as they possibly can. It’s not like they’re eventually going to be crushed under their own excess, though, as the Yankees have quietly put together a strong farm system. To boot, Cashman has done some of the best work of his career over the last two seasons making very small moves that have helped offset the sheer burden of the club’s big contracts.

As long as the Phillies and Yankees put quality teams on the field, they’ll have a shot. The rest will be up to luck, as they’ll have to hope to stumble upon cheap stars who can balance out the old, expensive stars.

And indeed, winning the World Series takes good luck too. All you can do is put a good club together and hope that the baseball gods take it from there.

 

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Pitching Prospect Tyler Cloyd Having Season for the Ages

The Philadelphia Phillies haven’t had too much to be happy about this season, but down in the minor leagues, Triple-A starting pitching prospect Tyler Cloyd is having one of the best minor league seasons in Phillies’ history. Adding another win to his season on Thursday night, Cloyd threw seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing just one run. His ERA dwindled to 1.91, and his record between Double-A and Triple-A is now an unbelievable 14-1, with 11 of those wins coming for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. 

Tyler Cloyd from Bellevue, Neb., was selected in the 18th round of the 2008 first-year player draft. Going into this season, Cloyd did not break the top twenty in any of the Phillies’ best prospects lists. Now, Cloyd is having the best season out of any other pitcher in all the minor leagues. 

So far in 2012, Tyler was an Eastern League (Double-A) and International League (Triple-A) player of the week, and he has also pitched in the International League All-Star Game. Cloyd currently leads the International League in ERA, wins and shutouts, and he is second in WHIP.

Tyler has made everyone in the Phillies’ organization turn their heads, and they’re not looking away. With Joe Blanton entering free agency, Cloyd has pitched himself into being one of the leading candidates to assume Blanton’s role in the 2013 Phillies’ starting rotation. If Cloyd can keep up this kind of production, we will see him in Philadelphia before the season ends. 

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Re-Ranking Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 25 Prospects Post-Trade Deadline

We knew that the Philadelphia Phillies weren’t going to be quiet heading into the July 31 trade deadline.

After arguably the most disappointing season in all of baseball, the Phillies were positioned to be the game’s most surprising sellers, and contending teams were on their most valuable players like white on rice.

In a way, however, it was surprising that the club only moved Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence. Victorino was a likely candidate as a free agent at season’s end with no visible future in Philadelphia. Pence was a bit more surprising, but there were rumblings, and the Phillies definitely needed to free up some space under the luxury tax.

It’s surprising because of the players who didn’t move. Placido Polanco’s stint on the disabled list probably saved him. The Phillies discussed Joe Blanton with the Baltimore Orioles, but never moved him. Ditto for Juan Pierre and the Cincinnati Reds, which is even more surprising because the Phillies acquired a controllable, left-handed outfielder in Nate Schierholtz.

They even discussed moving Cliff Lee in a blockbuster but never did. If nothing more, the trade deadline was interesting for the Phillies.

But we’re here to discuss the future. The Phillies acquired a few prospects at the trade deadline in Tommy Joseph, Ethan Martin and Seth Rosin. Each of the three will slide into the Phillies’ top 25.

We’ll also be updating the ranking of the prospects already in the Phillies’ system, and to apply a proper trade-deadline term, I’m making “wholesale changes.” Here we go.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Why Carlos Ruiz Deserves MVP Consideration

Before the season, nobody would have thought that Carlos Ruiz would be among the most productive offensive players in baseball.

After what he has done so far this season, it would not be surprising at all to hear his name even in MVP discussions.

Right now, Ruiz is hitting .340, which is the fifth best in the National League to go along with 14 home runs and 58 RBI. That is the highest batting average among catchers as well.

On top of what he provides on the offensive side of the ball, Ruiz is one of the elite defenders in baseball.

However, on top of simply his individual performance, it is hard to think about where the Philadelphia Phillies would be without him this season. They have not had very much offense to speak of outside of Ruiz.

He has definitely been the most valuable player for the Phillies, but it is going to be interesting to see if the voters shy away from voting for a player on a disappointing team. There is always a debate as to whether or not the MVP needs to be on a team that is actually doing well.

Even though there are plenty of other choices in the MVP race, if the season ended right now, Carlos Ruiz undoubtedly deserves to be considered for the honor. With guys like Joey Votto and Andrew McCutchen having good seasons for highly successful teams, there will undoubtedly be in the discussion as well.

I haven’t done this for a while, but let me open it up to all of you readers. Who is your National League MVP right now?

 

Whether you think I know everything or nothing about Major League Baseball, you should follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and keep in touch. I love hearing what you all have to say!

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Why the Phillies Were Mistakenly Caught Halfway Between Much-Needed Fire Sale

How long has it been since the Philadelphia Phillies were in the position of selling off talent at the trade deadline, rather than adding players? 

Was it 2006, when Bobby Abreu was dumped to the New York Yankees for four nondescript minor leaguers with little to no hope of reaching the majors? 

After that season, Philadelphia began its run of five consecutive division titles. The team went on to win a World Series championship in 2008. Ruben Amaro Jr. then replaced Pat Gillick as general manager. The Phillies followed up with another trip to the World Series, but lost to the Yankees. Winning the NL East and making a deep playoff run had become a formality.

So for the Phillies to play far below expectations and become sellers at the trade deadline to salvage a lost season was a position Amaro was completely unfamiliar with as an executive. Perhaps that’s why he couldn’t manage the extensive sell-off that the team needed to retool and reload for a return to success next season. 

 

Fire Sale? What Fire Sale?

To be fair, Amaro was never going to hold an outright fire sale.

The Phillies were expected to contend for yet another NL East title or make the playoffs as a wild card, at the very least. Unfortunately, many things went wrong at the same time, resulting in a horribly disappointing season. Injuries, poor performance, misguided roster construction and bad managing all contributed to the downfall. 

But winning was always the expectation. The Phillies had the second-highest payroll in baseball. Philadelphia fans packed Citizens Bank Park, providing the Phillies with the highest average attendance this season. (The Phillies led MLB in average attendance last year as well.) 

With that kind of support, along with the high-priced veteran talent on the roster, a complete dismantling of the team was never going to happen. 

Anyone thinking the Phillies were going to break up the band surely felt otherwise after Amaro signed free-agent-to-be Cole Hamels to a six-year, $144 million contract extension that made him the second-highest paid pitcher in baseball.

A team looking to rebuild doesn’t hand out a contract like that. And Hamels wouldn’t have re-signed with the Phillies if he thought the team was going to undergo a reconstruction centered around an ace starting pitcher. 

 

Avoid That Luxury Tax

However, trimming payroll was definitely a consideration for Amaro. From all accounts (including this one from CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury), Amaro’s priority was getting the Phillies under the $178 million threshold that would trigger a luxury tax.

That would have cost Philadelphia a 20 percent tax for every dollar over $178 million. The tax would go up to 30 percent if the Phillies exceed the $178 million threshold again next season. 

If the Phillies were on their way to another division title and looked like a contender to win the National League pennant, perhaps Amaro and team ownership would have been willing to pay that luxury tax. But suffering that kind of penalty for a last-place team with no shot at contention was unacceptable. 

To get the payroll under $178 million, Amaro had to get rid of some money. However, he didn’t have to slice a drastic amount from the team’s player budget. 

 

Not Far Enough?

But did Amaro take the sell-off effort as far as he could have? Should he have tried to trim even more money from the Phillies’ payroll? 

Trading Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence accomplished the objective of getting payroll under the luxury tax threshold. Pence was particularly important because the salary he would have gotten through the arbitration process was projected to be $14 million (based on his $10.4 million salary this year).

That money could be used to either fill multiple holes on the roster or sign a better player. The Philadelphia Daily News‘ David Murphy points to Carlos Beltran as an example of a highly productive player who was signed for less money per year. Beltran signed a two-year, $26 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals before this season.

However, if that’s the philosophy, how many other holes could be filled with the more than $100 million owed to Cliff Lee over the remaining four years (including a club option) of his contract?

Signing a center field upgrade over Victorino (such as Michael Bourn) and a lower-cost starting pitcher to replace Lee could be accomplished with that money.

That’s presumably why rumors of Lee being traded were buzzing right up until Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline.

The Phillies spoke publicly of fielding a playoff contender with a rotation led by Roy Halladay, Lee and Hamels. But if another team like the Texas Rangers was willing to make a deal for Lee—especially if a coveted third base prospect like Mike Olt was involved—the Phillies surely considered making a move. 

But even without dealing Lee, Amaro could have sold off other pieces to pare more payroll.

Joe Blanton was almost traded to the Baltimore Orioles, though the O’s supposedly balked at having to pay the $3 million he still has to be paid this season. Without that, what would be the point of trading Blanton? 

How about trading Ty Wigginton and the $4 million option on his contract for next season? Teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates needed infield help.

Juan Pierre doesn’t make an excessive amount of money ($800,000 this season), but what role could he play for the rest of the season? The Phillies need to give Domonic Brown as much playing time as possible, in order to see if he has a future in Philadelphia or can be traded elsewhere. Pierre would be of far more use to a team like the Cincinnati Reds, who need a leadoff hitter. 

 

Where’s the Future?

Some of these failed trade connections can be revisited before the Aug. 31 waiver trade deadline. And a bigger deal involving Lee could be made during the offseason. 

Amaro has to renew those efforts because he didn’t get enough in the deals he made.

The Phillies got a couple of pitching prospects as well as a pair of major league contributors who could help the team next season. They may have also gotten their catcher of the future.

But Amaro didn’t get the young center fielder or third baseman, each ideally close to ready for the majors, that he wanted from such trades. 

Maybe those players won’t be available until after the season. If they are, however, Amaro has to do what he can to fill those needs on his roster. Otherwise, he may get to try another fire sale at next year’s trade deadline.

 

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An Evaluation of Philadelphia Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr.

The 2012 MLB trade deadline has come and gone.

Just like each of the last three years, Philadelphia Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. has made moves involving a few valuable players.

The only difference this year? He was a seller.

This past Tuesday, Amaro traded outfielders Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence, two moves that have been met with mixed reviews.

Since then, the idea of firing Amaro has been a more prevalent issue raised in the world of Philadelphia Phillies fandom.

Could this be a logical solution to the Phillies’ 2012 woes?

In order to determine whether or not Ruben Amaro, Jr. should or should not keep his job, let’s examine the most prominent moves in his body of work since taking over following the team’s 2008 World Series championship.

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Philadelphia Phillies’ Biggest Letdowns in Past 30 Years

With the trades yesterday of Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence, the Phillies effectively waved the white flag on the 2012 season, and for all intents and purposes they closed the book on arguably the greatest era of baseball in the franchise’s storied 129-year history.

Whereas Victorino was a Rule 5 guy who blossomed into an All-Star in Philadelphia, along the way being a major factor in the Phillies’ 2008 World Series, Hunter Pence’s short tenure as a Phillie can only be described as a disappointment.

The only other era in the franchise’s history that was comparable to this one was the time between 1976 and 1983. Next season will mark 30 seasons between the two greatest periods in Phillies’ baseball.

In that time, the Phillies won one of their three trips to the World Series and also won six divisional titles. For all the great moments and players, there were some big letdowns.

Here is a look at the 10 biggest disappointments over the past 30 years in Phillies baseball.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Could Cliff Lee Clear Waivers, Be Traded by August 31?

Just because Cliff Lee is a Phillie today does not mean he will still be in Philadelphia when the season is over.

Even a week ago, the narrative was “the Phillies will try to win a bunch of games in a row and climb back in this thing.”

Then they got swept out of Atlanta, and the narrative became “Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence got traded for a bunch of guys you never heard of.”  So even though Lee did not go at the trade deadline, he should probably keep a panic bag packed just in case.

The “trade deadline” has passed, but teams are still able to make deals.  The complication for the Phillies in trading Lee now (and for any trading partner) would be that Lee must clear waivers.  Explanations of the waiver trade process are abundant—a good one was provided recently by FoxSports.com.

Analyzing where Lee might go after the trade deadline means presuming that he would clear waivers.  That is not a wild hypothesis, since Lee is still owed a ton of money and the Phillies have shown scant enthusiasm about eating much of it.

This exercise also means suspending disbelief as to whether Lee would block a proposed deal with his no-trade clause.  Information about this is incomplete—Lee’s contract says he can block trades to 21 teams, but we do not know which 21 they are. 

It may not matter, though, since Lee’s no-trade clause is his to waive.  Presented with a chance to win now rather than risk a rebuild (or at least a retool) with the Phillies, Lee may well choose to go.

The following teams would figure to have no interest in Lee, for financial or competitive reasons (in a lot of cases, both, actually):

• National League East:  Miami Marlins, New York Mets
• National League Central:  Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers
• National League West:  Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres
• American League East:  Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays
• American League Central:  Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins
• American League West:  Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (nowhere to put him!), Oakland A’s, Seattle Mariners

So where might he go?

Lee is highly unlikely to end up in the National League East via trade. 

The Washington Nationals, it can be argued, do not really need him, as strong as their pitching has been. 

The Atlanta Braves could use Lee, especially after Brandon Beachy was lost for the year.  But the Phillies probably would not trade Lee to a division rival unless the rival overpaid significantly.

The National League Central is an intriguing potential destination, as the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals all have postseason aspirations. 

Of the three, the Reds have the greatest need for pitching, but after committing to Joey Votto for a decade, the middle-market Reds may not be able to afford him. 

The Pirates have the same problem, though they would certainly prefer starting Lee over, say, James McDonald in a must-win game. 

The Cardinals are the least likely of the three to make this move, particularly if they fall much further back in the wild-card chase (four games out as of August 1).

Lee might actually favor a trade to the National League West, as both the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants play in pitchers’ parks and are poised to contend for a few seasons yet to come. 

But it probably will not happen.  Both the Dodgers (Shane Victorino) and Giants (Hunter Pence) just dealt with the Phillies and presumably could have added value to either deal to acquire Lee, but they did not do so.

Only one team in the American League East makes sense as a suitor for Cliff Lee. 

The New York Yankees were in the bidding for Lee when he signed the mega-deal with the Phillies.  The Yankees no doubt still remember how Lee stifled them in both the 2009 and 2010 postseasons.  And the Yankees have dealt with a series of starting pitching setbacks this season. 

The Yankees have the money and, as always, the need to win right now.  If a waiver trade deal is to happen, the Yankees are at or near the top of the list.

The American League Central has the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers battling for the division lead. Both teams have solid wild-card chances as well. 

Lee is probably not going to this division, for different monetary reasons: The White Sox probably cannot afford Lee because they traditionally do not spend that kind of money, whereas the Tigers have it but have already spent it on the likes of Justin Verlander, Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera.

That leaves one more team to consider. 

The Texas Rangers are going to have all they can handle from the Angels in the race for the division crown, and certainly the Rangers could see the Angels again in the postseason.  Could the Rangers open their heart (and their wallet) to Lee again?  Do not rule it out.

The Yankees and the Rangers are probably the favorites to acquire Lee if he is moved before August 31.  But if you have to bet on anything, bet on Lee being a Phillie in 2013. 

At least until July 31.

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July Grades for All 25 Philadelphia Phillies’ Players

Any month that ends in a wholesale free-for-all for a team that had World Series aspirations before the season started probably wasn’t a good one. It definitely wasn’t a good month for the Philadelphia Phillies.

It has been a long time since the Phillies were out of the postseason race this early in the season. Sure, they had their reasons: Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay missed a good portion of the first half of the season.

You try and win a division as tough as the National League East without the middle of your order and one of the best pitchers in baseball. That’s not a simple task.

But the Phillies aren’t the type of club to make excuses. Instead, they’ll have to stand before the executioner (I think he goes by Ruben Amaro Jr. nowadays) and take their lumps. Necks are on the chopping block, and it is no one’s fault but their own.

For Phillies fans, this could be a depressing month. This is the end of the road. The team that won the World Series in 2008 is going to be effectively eulogized through a mass sell-off.

Here’s where each player went wrong (and the very few who went right.)

*All statistics are through Monday, July 30.

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