Why I Don't Want the Yankees to sign Cliff Lee

I don't want the Yankees to sign Cliff Lee.

(pause)

Whew, close one. I thought for sure I would hear cursing and have things thrown at me.

I'll repeat: I don't want the Yankees to sign Cliff Lee. In fact, I think he is going to stay with the Texas Rangers.

Now, most of you out there are going to respond in one of these ways:

- "What?! You're crazy. He's Cliff Lee! Give him what he wants!"

- "That's dumb, we need him."

- "Why not? We can afford him, we're the Yankees. We get whoever we want. The Texas Rangers don't have our resources."

I respect those responses, but the reason I don't want Lee is more complex than that, and it comes down to three reasons.

A) Money

B) Age/Years

C) Youth/Need

Let's tackle A) first.

Money

Moola. Cash. Dough. Paper. Everyone loves them some money, especially when you could potentially be getting a raise from $9 million to $24 million. Enter Mr. Lee. First things first, if any player ever says that they "don't care about the money, and do it for the game," they're lying. Money is always a factor, if not the factor. Lee is no different from any other athlete. He's a not a "do it for the game" guy, he's going to take the best offer, meaning the most money, to his liking. He has a family to support. Can you blame him? I think we'd all do the same thing, especially coming off another amazing season (12-9, 3.18)/postseason (3-2, 2.78). Lee, bottom line, is going to get paid.

Now, I'm not saying Lee doesn't deserve a salary in the $20 million range. He does, but at a certain price. $25 million may be pushing it, but Lee is seeking CC Sabathia-money. In 2008, Sabathia signed a seven-year $161 million contract with the Yankees, making him the highest-paid pitcher in history, so imagine having two similar contracts on the same team? Especially a team that is said to be running a "tight" budget.

I'm sure Lee is a nice guy, but he has incentive to ask the Yankees for more than any other team. 1) Duh, they're the Yankees, their wallet is endless, and 2) the way his wife was treated at Yankee Stadium during the playoffs between Texas and the Yankees, as she was, reportedly, "spit at and harassed" by Yankee fans. Lee could ask for more money because of the way she was treated, and require that she have special protection, etc. He could also turn around and say "well Texas treated us better, and my wife felt safer there," but I don't think that'll be much of the factor into Lee's decision.

Bottom line is, as I said before, he is going to get paid, whether it be from the Yankees or the Rangers. He baffled teams during the regular season, even walking just 18 (!!!) men, and continued that dominance in the playoffs, especially with his complete-game shutout against the Yankees in the ALCS. I'm not saying I wouldn't mind Lee. I like him-hell, I'd love to have him-but not at any price. If the Yankees get Lee, it has to be reasonable, maybe $20 million/year. Committing another $150 million to a 33 year-old pitcher has bad idea written all over it, which brings us to point B)....

Age/Years

Lee is 33 years-old, not exactly a spring chicken. Yes, he is a left-handed pitcher and has improved greatly as he has aged, but also he is close to his inevitable decline. I don't think shelling out $150 million over seven years to a 33 year-old pitcher (which is what Lee reportedly wants) is a smart idea for the Yankees, but then again they signed a then 32 year-old Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year, $275 million contract (he's making $32 million/season right now) and now they're stuck with him till he's 42, aka, the inevitable decline in production.

Lee is going to be super expensive, and he's going to want a long-term contract. If he asks the Yankees for six or seven years, I'll pass. I don't want to even imagine a declining pitcher making $25 million per season in his 40's. Just think: By the time Lee would be in the seventh year of the contract, the Yankees would have a 42 year-old Rodriguez, 38 year-old Mark Teixeira, 37 year-old Sabathia, and a 35 year-old Robinson Cano, all making close to $20 million/season. That's a little much for aging superstars, no?

No, I wouldn't be surprised if Lee was the same pitcher he is now for the first 2-3 year years of the contract. But come years 4&5, I think he'll be just okay, maybe a #3 starter at best. Then there's years 6&7, which will be his decline years, and where he'll be an above, if not average, pitcher. Paying $25 million per season is too much, and giving him a six or seven year deal is too much. If the Yankees offer Lee a contract, the best would be a four or five year contact for around maybe $120 million. That I'd be fine with. But if he wants $150 over seven, I'm backing off. The Yankees won the World Series in 2009, and came within two wins of going back to the World Series in 2010. They don't have the same desperate attitude they had going into the 2009 season after missing the playoffs in 2008. They don't need Cliff Lee as much as they want Cliff Lee, leading us to...

Youth/Need

The Yankees don't need Cliff Lee.

Sabathia (30) is in his prime and is a bonafide ace, Phil Hughes (24) is finally developing into the ace/#2 all analysts expected, A.J. Burnett (33), while questionable, has ace-potential when consistent, and Ivan Nova (23) is ready to make the big leap to the starting rotation. And there's always long-time Yankee Andy Pettitte (39) who may or may not retire.

Sure, Lee is a huge upgrade over Nova, who's just a kid and hasn't really proved himself. But still, there is no glaring need for Lee, as much as there is a want. We know the Yankees wanted Cliff Lee last year, heck, they even ALMOST acquired him when he was a Seattle Mariner and sacrificed their top prospect, catcher Jesus Montero, to get him, even though it was not mean to be. Still, even back then, they didn't need him.

They still don't need him.

Me, well I'd like to see the kids get a chance. Maybe it's just because I'm a big pro-opponent of the youth movement that's going around baseball these days, but why not give the kids a shot? Nova, (who I'm a big big big fan of) came up last year after having a gnarly year in Triple-A last year (12-3, 2.86). I definitely would like to see him get a shot at cracking the rotation. As well the Yankees, unknown to many, have a great trio of pitching prospects. The "Killer B's" as some call them, all starting pitchers, LHP Manny Banuelos (19), RHP Andrew Brackman (24), and RHP Dellin Betances (22), are, as scouts have called them "potential front-line starters." Recently, it's been said that the trio is not far from the majors, perhaps even just a year away for each of them.

Signing Lee would block these young guys, who I would love to see in the long-run in the Yankees' rotation. This trio is part of the Yankees' future, and trading them (which would be the best idea, so that it's fair to them to have major league careers and get something in return) might be scary, especially with their potential.

The Yankees don't NEED Lee. They have a four-man rotation as is (Sabathia, Hughes, Burnett, Nova) and Pettitte potentially could return. They've also got incredible pitching depth at the minor league level, with three top-flight pitchers. I say give youth a chance.

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The Bottom Line

I would NOT be upset if the Yankees signed Cliff Lee...

...if it was reasonable.

I'd love to have Lee on the Yankees, but at a reasonable price. If he asks for more, let him walk. The Yankees have depth, and could always pull off a trade or sign someone else. And to those who think Lee is unbeatable, look at his performance in the World Series against a team (San Francisco Giants) with baseball's worst offense. Not exactly unbeatable.

By the way, if you read my other post on the Top 10 Free Agents, you'll see I predicted Lee would go back to Texas.

So while he would present an upgrade, and would give the Yankees the best rotation in baseball, I still don't want the Yankees to sign Cliff Lee. He's older and expensive, plus I think they could win 95 games with Nova and another pitcher in the rotation. I don't want him, and they don't need him, especially not at $25 million per year. So to GM Brian Cashman...

Please, don't give a blank check to Mr. Lee and sign him at any cost.

Don't sign Cliff Lee.