Source says Minnesota Twins leading race to acquire pitcher Cliff Lee

[IE]

BY CHARLEY WALTERS

One high-ranking major league official outside the Twins organization says he hears the Twins are the front-runner for Seattle pitcher Cliff Lee.

Considering the windfall revenue the Twins are pulling in from their new Target Field, affording Lee (about $4.5 million for the rest of the season as a rental player) isn't a problem. Providing Seattle with the right prospects for a trade is.

The Twins love pitchers who throw strikes. Lee's strikeout-to-walk ratio has been startling ? he has walked just five batters in 96 innings while whiffing 78. Lee's control makes his 91-mph fastball seem like it's 94 mph.

The Mariners want a package of primarily hitting prospects in exchange for Lee. The Twins have catcher Wilson Ramos and outfielders Ben Revere and Joe Benson presumably available. Starting pitcher Nick Blackburn also could be part of a deal for Lee.

But Seattle has a young catcher it likes a lot in Adam Moore, 26, lessening their appetite for Ramos.

The Twins like the notion of a first-round draft pick they would receive, as well as a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds of next year's draft, when Lee would depart after the season via free agency.

The New York Yankees have a 20-year-old hitter, Jesus Montero, they would be expected to offer for Lee. Although Montero is a catcher, his value is more with the bat than glove.

The
Yankees also have the wherewithal to sign Lee to a five-year deal that could approach $95 million. With Joe Mauer signed for $184 million and Justin Morneau for $80 million, the Twins, despite their newfound ballpark wealth, could not justify those numbers for Lee.

If the Twins were able to trade for Lee, it's a good bet the Mariners would be willing to include third baseman Jack Hannahan, the former Gophers player from St. Paul. Hannahan is batting .231 at Class AAA Tacoma and recently hit his fourth home run in 55 games.

 

[Chadman]

Acquiring Lee would be another in a recent string of great decisions by this franchise. It's a pleasure to be a Twins fan right now. We went to the game yesterday, and the pitching is really an issue at the moment. The bullpen is not performing up to snuff, and it's in large part due to the poor recent starts by multiple pitchers. Dropping in Lee to anchor a good young staff would be awesome. Yesterday Lee shut down the Tigers, which probably sealed the deal on this end.

 

[rocky mountain]

Phillies brass are very close friends to seattles gm. I think they will protect phils and trade to miiny as opposed to mets , all things being considered. If I was Lee i would want to go to Mets and get sweet revenge! Hope it doesnt happen, being phillies fan.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

Acquiring Lee would be another in a recent string of great decisions by this franchise. It's a pleasure to be a Twins fan right now. We went to the game yesterday, and the pitching is really an issue at the moment. The bullpen is not performing up to snuff, and it's in large part due to the poor recent starts by multiple pitchers. Dropping in Lee to anchor a good young staff would be awesome. Yesterday Lee shut down the Tigers, which probably sealed the deal on this end.

Chadman -- I don't follow the Twins all that closely, but is their rotation really a big problem this year? I know Blackburn is really bad, but what about the others? I thought Slowey, Baker, etc. were all really good pitchers? Are they just having down years, or was I getting some bad info way out here in Canada South? :142smilie

And just as an FYI, everything I've read locally here says that the Twins are in fact the frontrunner, at least right now. Having said that, apparently Jack is being more of a ballbuster about this than many people thought. I guess he's demanding an "impact bat" (I assume that's Ramos) and at least another highly regarded prospect (possibly a LH pitcher).

I'm also reading that the Reds and Rangers are pretty high up on the list because Smoak and Alonso are two hitters the M's covet. I don't know about the Rangers rumor though because many people seem to think they are unwilling to deal Smoak.

GL -- if you guys get Lee you will have a legit shot to win it all.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

Phillies brass are very close friends to seattles gm. I think they will protect phils and trade to miiny as opposed to mets , all things being considered. If I was Lee i would want to go to Mets and get sweet revenge! Hope it doesnt happen, being phillies fan.

I highly doubt he will go to the Mets. Simply put, they just don't have the prospects to get it done. The M's are looking for a "can't miss" type prospect as the centerpiece of the deal and, while most people agree that the Mets have some decent prospects, they don't really have any can't miss guys. Furthermore, it sounds like they aren't willing to move Ike Davis, so I really doubt he goes to the Mets. Who knows though -- everything could change 3 days from now. :142smilie

 

[Trampled Underfoot]

Ramos is not an impact bat. There are talks about Hicks being involved. That should be of interest to Seattle. He could be a difference maker.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

Ramos is not an impact bat. There are talks about Hicks being involved. That should be of interest to Seattle. He could be a difference maker.

Well he seems to be the guy the M's are targeting, and most people think he is the best prospect in the Twins system. But as I said before, I don't follow the Twins all that closely so I don't know if that's true or not.

 

[Trampled Underfoot]

Well he seems to be the guy the M's are targeting, and most people think he is the best prospect in the Twins system. But as I said before, I don't follow the Twins all that closely so I don't know if that's true or not.

Its not even close. Hicks is the prize. He is in A ball though so there is a lot more risk. Keith Law has him as the #9 prospect in baseball right now. Ramos would be a nice piece but he would be an average catcher at best.

Personally I want to get Brown from Philly or try to get some prospects away from Texas.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

TU,

I just saw the rumor of Hicks and Ramos for Lee on the USS Mariner site. I'm not sure if that's where you saw it as well, but it's intriguing.

I have to say I find the sudden downplaying of Ramos by the "experts" pretty interesting. A few weeks ago people talked about this guy like he was going to set the majors on fire, and now he's being compared to Adam Moore? Seriously??? This is one of the most frustrating things about potential trades for prospects -- guys are hyped up like crazy and then, for whatever reason, all the hype goes away. What's next? Jesus Montero drawing comparisons to Dave Valle? :mj07:

At any rate, if anyone is interested in this rumor here's the link:

http://www.ussmariner.com/

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

Its not even close. Hicks is the prize. He is in A ball though so there is a lot more risk. Keith Law has him as the #9 prospect in baseball right now. Ramos would be a nice piece but he would be an average catcher at best.

Personally I want to get Brown from Philly or try to get some prospects away from Texas.

My bad -- I didn't see this post before I posted. I guess what I should take away from this whole Lee thing is that I shouldn't believe what I hear/read. I've heard all along that Ramos was the guy the M's wanted, and that he would be the centerpiece of any potential trade with the Twins.

It would be great if they could get Brown, but would he end up bumping Saunders? I can't see them moving Guti or Ichiro...

 

[Trampled Underfoot]

TU,

I just saw the rumor of Hicks and Ramos for Lee on the USS Mariner site. I'm not sure if that's where you saw it as well, but it's intriguing.

I have to say I find the sudden downplaying of Ramos by the "experts" pretty interesting. A few weeks ago people talked about this guy like he was going to set the majors on fire, and now he's being compared to Adam Moore? Seriously??? This is one of the most frustrating things about potential trades for prospects -- guys are hyped up like crazy and then, for whatever reason, all the hype goes away. What's next? Jesus Montero drawing comparisons to Dave Valle? :mj07:

At any rate, if anyone is interested in this rumor here's the link:

http://www.ussmariner.com/

I saw it on PI. I don't think anyone thought Ramos was special though. Maybe i'm wrong though. He has value though. He's a probable major league starter that Seattle would have control of for 6 years.

 

[Trampled Underfoot]

It would be great if they could get Brown, but would he end up bumping Saunders? I can't see them moving Guti or Ichiro...

It would be a nice problem to have. The bottom line is to get the highest value regardless of position. Jack Z is great at dealing so i'm sure he could figure out how to move his assets around. Personally i'm not sold on Saunders at all.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

I saw it on PI. I don't think anyone thought Ramos was special though. Maybe i'm wrong though. He has value though. He's a probable major league starter that Seattle would have control of for 6 years.

Everything I've read and/or heard has made him out to be a pretty special player. Now, I'm not saying that's TRUE at all, that's just what I saw. But like I said in the last post, I should have learned a long time ago not to take what sportswriters write to heart. Most of these guys aren't very knowledgeable about the sport they cover, which begs the question of how do they get their job in the first place?

It will be interesting to see what happens. As long as they can maximize value for Lee, I'm cool with it. I would really like to see a C or 1B come back in a deal though.

 

[IE]

Reds have interest in Lee


by jfay/cinn enquirer

The Reds have talked to Seattle Mariners about left-hander Cliff Lee. The talks happened when the Reds were in Seattle a couple of weeks ago.

Tampering rules prevent general manager Walt Jocketty on commenting on a player from another team. But in general terms, it sounds like Lee would be the type of player that Reds would target.

?I will say this: We?re looking at anyway we can to improve the club,? Jocketty said. ?To improve the club, it would have to be a pretty significant player to do that. We have a lot of good things going. We don?t want to disrupt that.?

Seattle wants an impact bat for Lee. Former top pick Yonder Alonso fits that bill. Despite Alonso struggles this year ? he?s hitting .246/.283/.365 at Triple-A ? he?s still regarded highly in baseball circles.

Lee, 31, is 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA for the Mariners. He went 14-13 with a 3.22 ERA last year with Cleveland and Philadelphia. He went 22-3 with a 2.34 ERA in ?08 with Cleveland.

He makes $9 million this year and is a free agent after the season.

My guess is it would takes more than Alonso to get Lee. I think how Edinson Volquez does upon his return will also affect the Reds? interest.

 

[bleedingpurple]

Chadman -- I don't follow the Twins all that closely, but is their rotation really a big problem this year? I know Blackburn is really bad, but what about the others? I thought Slowey, Baker, etc. were all really good pitchers? Are they just having down years, or was I getting some bad info way out here in Canada South? :142smilie

And just as an FYI, everything I've read locally here says that the Twins are in fact the frontrunner, at least right now. Having said that, apparently Jack is being more of a ballbuster about this than many people thought. I guess he's demanding an "impact bat" (I assume that's Ramos) and at least another highly regarded prospect (possibly a LH pitcher).

I'm also reading that the Reds and Rangers are pretty high up on the list because Smoak and Alonso are two hitters the M's covet. I don't know about the Rangers rumor though because many people seem to think they are unwilling to deal Smoak.

GL -- if you guys get Lee you will have a legit shot to win it all.

Since chadman did not respond,

The Twins starters have been a disssppointment besides Pavano and Liriano. Liriano hasn't been all that stellar since April but he has the best stuff.

Blackburn- Had a great May but has average stuff with a non overpowering fast ball. Throws in the strike zone and teams are free swinging.

Slowey-- Has always had a good record for the Twins but always and above average ERA. Yet another pitcher who throws strikes with nothing overpowering.

Baker-- Ditto but the guy has a little more snap with the curve at times but likes to leave the ball up..

All 3 of these guys have the same crap.. Low 90s fastballs and average stuff.. These guys get whacked around when teams are going through the 2nd and 3rd time through their order.. What pisses me off about these pitchers is that they have had decent offers for these guys but the Twins would not trade em especially Slowey but then they go trade Garza who has much better stuff than the others. These pitchers really shit the bed on the last big road trip. I am suprised that the bullpen has held up as well as it has.. Leads the AL in bullpen ERA.. Brian Dunsueng has been a bullpen Godsend..

The Twins should and probably will get Lee.. I think they do whatever they have to get him.. Hope they can sign him long term if they do but it only looks like a rent a player..

 

[bleedingpurple]

When mentioning Baker and Slowey, these guys were over rated prospects.. When Slowey was named in trade talks the Twins made him a "non tradeable" prospect. Really?

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

Thanks for replying, BP. I didn't realize the starting rotation was that bad for Minny. I think my judgment is probably a bit skewed because a couple of years ago I did quite well betting on them, and specifically I think it was Slowey that almost always pitched well when I bet on him. It may have been Baker, but I think it was Slowey.

Are you very familiar with the Twins farm system? Would you be disappointed at all if they let Ramos and Hicks go for Lee? Even if both those guys turn out to be good players, it has to be nice to add a Cliff Lee to your roster without even giving up a current major leaguer.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

This article says, contrary to what has been reported, the M's asked for Ramos and Hicks but the Twins never offered them. Surprise, surprise, conflicting information yet again. The hot rumor today is that there is a possible 3-way deal with Upton from the Rays, Lee from the M's, and a third team. I'm sure that will prove to be false as well:

http://prospectinsider.com/view/lee-to-twins-not-done/?PHPSESSID=dbff25f6bb26b415c787294f67afef29

 

[bleedingpurple]

I would not mind Ramos but I really do not think Hicks will be in the equation unless they plan to sign Lee long term..

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

I would not mind Ramos but I really do not think Hicks will be in the equation unless they plan to sign Lee long term..

Yeah, it sounds like the guy is going to be a stud. The only thing I find odd about that kid is that he's 21 and only in A ball. You would think such a highly-rated prospect would be a lot further along at the age of 21. :shrug: