MLB

Cliff Lee Agrees To Contract With Phillies. WHOA.

In a shocking move, Cliff Lee will reportedly spurn lucrative offers from the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees to return to the Philadelphia Phillies, with whom he finished the 2009 season. This makes the Phillies’ starting rotation an absolute juggernaut, and is crushing news both for the Rangers, who looked to have a good chance at re-signing Lee, and the Yankees, who hoped to make a free agent splash on the level of their archrivals, the Boston Red Sox.

NBC Sports reported a Lee-Phillies deal was done earlier tonight, calling the agreement “amazing. Absolutely amazing.” SB Nation’s Jeff Sullivan also wrote of the deal:

T.R. Sullivan was the first with the news, and it has since been confirmed by Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman. The Rangers and Yankees now have to look for alternatives elsewhere. The Rangers could turn to Matt Garza or Zack Greinke, while the Yankees may simply focus on addressing their bench and their bullpen.

But the big story here is the Phillies, who have locked Cliff Lee up to a five-year contract after never being taken seriously as contenders until late Monday. It’s unclear exactly how they intend to fit Lee into their budget, and they may simply increase payroll to make room, but what matters is that an agreement is in place. No matter how it works out, next season’s Phillies will sport a starting rotation of Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, and someone else. It’s a rotation that has the potential to be the best starting rotation in modern baseball history.

While locking up Lee at all is a monumental coup for the Phillies, even better is that a five-year deal is reasonable for someone Lee’s age (he’ll turn 33 next season)…and Lee’s not even a power pitcher to begin with. If he retains his pinpoint control over the course of the deal, he should remain effective. (SI’s Jon Heyman reports the deal is in excess of $100 million.)

And we agree with Sullivan that the payroll logistics are of secondary importance at the moment (as long as the Phillies aren’t moving one of their other top starters to make room – and really, if that were the case, why sign Lee at all?). The main point – the Phillies got Cliff Lee. You know what that means they gave up in their trade that netted Roy Halladay? One year of Cliff Lee. Besides that? Essentially nothing.

And that Phillies rotation. Let’s look at that top four (which would constitute the playoff rotation) again: Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, Hamels. Sure, three of those guys are in their 30s, but based on their performance last year, all have plenty in the tank. Assuming the Phillies don’t have to give up any of those four, that is a mind-blowing rotation. I am absolutely flabbergasted.

I think of this confluence of talent, and one thing comes to mind: the Miami Heat. That’s the magnitude of the talent joining forces here. Only in this case, they don’t even have to learn how to play together, since only one can take the mound at a time. They just have to keep doing what they’ve all been doing for years: pitching exceptionally well. And if they all pitch to their potential over the next few seasons, the Phillies will be nearly impossible to deal with.

Again, this is an absolute shock, and congrats to the Phillies. Wow.

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