RHP Alfredo Gonzalez and Philadelphia Phillies Reportedly Agree to 6-Year Deal
July 26, 2013 by Patrick Clarke
Filed under Fan News
The Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly added some depth to their pitching staff, agreeing to a six-year deal with Cuban right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez worth more than $50 million, according to Yahoo! Sports MLB columnist Jeff Passan via Twitter:
Passan adds that, according to a source, the deal could pay Gonzalez as much as $60 million when bonuses are factored in. That figure would be a record for an international player:
On Saturday, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported that the contract figures were a little different than those reported by Passan.
A talented starting flamethrower from Cuba, Gonzalez has a lot to offer Philadelphia as it gets set to make a final push for the postseason this summer.
According to ESPNDallas.com’s Richard Durrett, the 26-year-old “has a nice assortment of pitches,” and can reach 96 mph on his fastball. Durrett also hears that Gonzalez possesses an impressive splitter, slider and changeup.
Gonzalez was “granted free agency” back in June, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. Around the same time, he received an unblocking license from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control that made him eligible to sign with a major-league team earlier this week.
The Phillies, who are five games below .500 and nine games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East following Friday’s road loss to the Detroit Tigers, currently rank 22nd in the majors in team ERA, sporting a 4.16 earned run average.
Only San Francisco and San Diego rank worse among National League teams in that category. Therefore, this move makes plenty of sense for Philly, even if the cost is alarming.
Adding Gonzalez right before the trade deadline allows the Phillies to add a top-flight starter to their rotation without having to sacrifice any prospects in exchange. Financially, only time will tell how wise of a move this one is for Philadelphia.
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MLB Rumors: What Cliff Lee Signing with the Phillies Means for the Yankees
December 16, 2010 by Patrick Clarke
Filed under Fan News
Though it’s old news by now, Cliff Lee has signed with the Phillies and will return to the franchise that shipped him to Seattle just last offseason.
Lee has stated since the signing that he never wanted to leave Philadelphia.
He won two World Series games for the Phillies in 2009 when they lost to the New York Yankees in six games, and then he was gone.
Now, after weeks of chatter about how New York needed to lock up Lee to ensure AL East dominance, the Yankees find themselves out of the running and looking to make a big move of their own this winter.
Perhaps even more surprising then who Lee signed with was the amount. Lee signed a five-year deal with the Phillies worth $120 million, thus proving to New York that money can’t buy happiness, or in this case Cliff Lee.
Lee also understands what is at stake for the Phillies franchise. They now have arguably one of baseball’s greatest pitching staffs of all time.
Going down the list, the Phils have Roy Oswalt, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Brad Lidge and now Lee. The Phillies will be the odds-on favorite to win it all next year as long as they can stay healthy.
For the Yankees however, it now becomes a question of whether or not they can get back to the World Series.
Just last week, the Red Sox made two huge free agent signings worth nearly $300 million that have gone unmatched so far by the Yankees.
Tampa Bay isn’t the same obviously, but Boston now has the bats to compete with New York’s pitching, and suddenly there is a sense of urgency in the Big Apple.
Lee’s signing could have been worse news for New York though. He could have went to Boston.
Patrick Clarke is a student at Towson University and a writing intern for Bleacher Report.
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