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Big fish as trade bait
12:32am
Cliff Lee is being used as trade bait by the Seattle Mariners. Last night against the New York Yankees he tossed his third consecutive complete game. Suddenly, the bait looks more like a big fish.
Lee has been rumored to be on the move this past week. In fact, Fox Sports baseball analyst Ken Rosenthal reported a deal could go down within 7-10 days, long before the July 31 trade deadline. The Mets, Twins, Dodgers and Rangers have been rumored to be bidding for Lee, who told the New York media:
“Yeah, I like pitching here (New York). I’ve always enjoyed pitching here. I’m not afraid to take the subway,”
Lee told the Seattle Times:
“There is really no other comment I can make other than it’s out of my control, so I don’t really think about it or worry about it. If I wind up somewhere else, I will try to help that team win. It’s really that simple. It’s not complicated.”
Asked if he had a preference on where he’d like to be traded, Lee said:
“I mean, that is kind of a loaded question. I am going to chose not to answer it. Obviously, I do have preferences, but I’m not going to tell you who I want to play for — if I had a choice, and I don’t, so it’s pointless to consume time talking about it or worrying about it.”
Seattle Times reporter Larry Stone believes the Mets and Twins are front-runners in the trade talks. Meanwhile, Mariners beat writer Geoff Stone reports the pressure is mounting on the Mets to make a deal for Lee.
Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told the media before the game that he plans to wait to see how the Mariners responded over the next month before making a decision on Lee.
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Perez expected to begin rehab
12:05am
ESPN-New York reports Oliver Perez is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment today in Port St. Lucie.