All the latest on Cliff Lee, after a slew of rumors yesterday…
- Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg announced on a conference call that the team made Lee an offer for an unspecified amount, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (all Twitter links). The lefty is now weighing his options and the Rangers feel good about their chances. Like the Yankees, the Rangers offered Lee a "menu" of choices, Greenberg said (Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reporting on Twitter).
- The Rangers expect to know by tonight whether they'll be able to sign Lee or not, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sulivan.
- The Rangers asked Braunecker what it'd take to sign Lee, according to Crasnick. The agent, who obviously has the upper hand, instead told the Rangers they'll have to make their best offer.
- The Yankees have presented Lee with an assortment of contract choices, writes Sherman. He believes the bids are something like five years for $125MM ($25MM per), six years for $144MM ($24MM per), and seven years for $161MM ($23MM per). I have a feeling this will reach its resolution with Lee signing the largest pitching contract ever.
- The Rangers requested the Arkansas meeting and plan to increase their offer beyond five years, tweets Rosenthal. The Rangers are "adding any perk necessary" to please Lee and his family, tweets Yahoo's Steve Henson.
- Crasnick reports that the Yankees' new seven-year offer has a lower average annual value than the $23.3MM of their previous one. So this offer could be worth less than Sabathia's contract.
- The Rangers are sending a contingent to meet with Lee and agent Darek Braunecker in the pitcher's hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. This will mark the team's third trip to Arkansas. The Rangers are sending owner Chuck Greenberg and assistant GM Thad Levine, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Angels GM Tony Reagins acknowledged interest in Lee, tweets Rosenthal.
- The Lee talks might drag through the weekend, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Yankees have just gone to a seventh year for Lee, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. With Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth getting deals of that length, it'd be hard to sign Lee without matching. The Yanks' previous offer was reported to be six years and $140MM, so this one could nudge Lee past C.C. Sabathia for the largest contract ever given to a pitcher.
