Top News:
Trsullivan / Postcards from Elysian Fields:
Cliff Lee is going to Philadelphia Phillies — The Rangers were told Monday night that Lee is going to the Phillies, It is a done deal — YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! (RC)^2 (Ar See Squared) Roy-Roy-Cole-Cliff. The Phantastic Phour! YESSSSS!!!!!!
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, BronxBanterBlog.com, HardballTalk, New York Post, Mets Merized Online, LA Times Sports Blog, The LoHud Yankees Blog, Phillies Nation, Bronx Baseball Daily, The Good Phight, Pinstripe Alley, MetsBlog.com, baseballmusings.com, lenNY's Yankees, Sliding Into Home, Lookout Landing, NESN.com, The700Level.com, The Zo Zone and Baseball Time in Arlington
RELATED:
Fox Sports:
Phillies still bidding for prize ace — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter. — The Yankees and Rangers are not alone. — The Phillies are still bidding for free-agent left-hander Cliff Lee …
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated, GoatRiders of the Apocalypse, HardballTalk, Federal Baseball, The Zo Zone, MLB Daily Dish, The Good Phight, Royals Review, New Jersey Online, Viva El Birdos, Lookout Landing, The700Level.com, River Avenue Blues, Crossing Broad, baseballmusings.com, Boston Globe, lenNY's Yankees, Texas Rangers and MLB Rumors
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Phillies Agree To Sign Cliff Lee — The wait is over. In a surprising development that leaves two top American League teams empty-handed, Cliff Lee has agreed to sign a five-year, $120MM deal with the Phillies. The contract also includes a reachable vesting option for a sixth year and a partial no-trade clause.
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN.com:
Sources: Cliff Lee to return to Phillies — The numbers had been crunched and all the scenarios exhausted Monday night when Cliff Lee finally made his decision. — He picked up the phone, thanked Rangers general manager Jon Daniels for his time in Texas and revealed he was signing with the Philadelphia Phillies.
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Phillies swoop in and bring back Lee — ARLINGTON — Free-agent pitcher Cliff Lee is headed back to Philadelphia. — The Rangers worked as hard as they could to re-sign Lee, but their pursuit came to an end on Monday when he informed the club that he was signing with the Phillies.
Discussion:
Dallas Morning News, Nationals Baseball, Fanhouse MLB Blog and Lone Star Ball
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:
Lee spurns Yanks, Rangers, returns to Phils … Almost a year after they traded him, Cliff Lee is headed back to the Philadelphia Phillies. — Lee, the most highly sought pitcher on this winter's free-agent market, turned down more lucrative offers from the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers …
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated, Beyond the Box Score and Cincinnati Reds
New York Times:
Cliff Lee Accepts Late Bid by the Phillies — All along, the Yankees knew they were fighting the Texas Rangers for Cliff Lee. But they also had a sense of dread, a feeling that a stealth team might steal the latest pitcher of their dreams. They had reason to be worried.
Discussion:
BOSTON IRISH, YFSF and BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Cliff Lee's return simply stunning — Left is headed back to Philly, proving that he wasn't really after the biggest paycheck — Of all the crazy free-agent sagas in baseball history, where would we rank this one? — Of all the nutty, convoluted, out-of-the-wild-blue-yonder twists …
Discussion:
Faith and Fear in Flushing and Batter's Box Interactive …
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Phillies Come Out of Nowhere in Winning Bid for Lee — Nobody wants to be unemployed around the holidays, but Clifton Phifer Lee of Little Rock, Ark., did not seem to mind. The Yankees, the Texas Rangers and, now, the Philadelphia Phillies were eagerly awaiting Lee's decision on where to continue …
Dave Cameron / FanGraphs Baseball:
Best. Rotation. Ever?
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Mets Merized Online, Fanhouse MLB Blog, FanHouse and ESPN
David Waldstein / New York Times:
Darek Braunecker, Agent for Cliff Lee, Is Getting Noticed
Discussion:
New York Yankees Fan Blog
Marc Carig / New Jersey Online:
Yankees waiting after making first offer to Cliff Lee
Discussion:
Bronx Baseball Daily and MLB Rumors
USA Today:
Stunner: Cliff Lee headed back to Phillies
Discussion:
Phillies Nation, Subway Squawkers, newyorkstateofsports.com and Babes Love Baseball
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN:
Sources: Cliff Lee to return to Phillies
Discussion:
ESPN and Athletics Nation
Matt Forman / Baseball America:
Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects (How to subscribe)
Discussion:
Phillies Nation and The Good Phight
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Cliff Lee Rumors: Monday
Discussion:
BronxBanterBlog.com and Bugs & Cranks
Craig Calcaterra / HardballTalk:
The Rangers are going after Adrian Beltre. Have they lost out on Cliff Lee?
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, MLB Daily Dish, Lone Star Ball and Texas Rangers
Adam Kilgore / Nationals Journal:
Nationals ‘aggressively pursuing’ trade for Zack Greinke and Matt Garza; but can they make it happen? — Once Cliff Lee signs — we can all only hope it happens before the next presidential election — the rest of this offseason's starting pitching dominoes can start to fall.
Discussion:
Federal Baseball and MLB Rumors
RELATED:
Jerry Crasnick / MLB:
Sources: New York Yankees, Texas Rangers unlikely Zack Greinke fits
Discussion:
Federal Baseball, Bronx Baseball Daily, MLB Rumors, HardballTalk, Pinstripe Alley, MLB Daily Dish, JSOnline and ESPN
Greg Johns / MLB.com:
A's sign right-hander McCarthy — Starter could bolster rotation if his shoulder is healthy — If Brandon McCarthy's shoulder is as healthy as he says, the Oakland A's landed another potential starter for their rotation Monday with the agreement on a one-year deal for the free-agent pitcher.
Discussion:
Texas Rangers
RELATED:
Andy Martino / NY Daily News:
Mets introduce Terry Collins' coaching staff, team still looking to add more diversity to club — Last Wednesday, final night of the winter meetings, Terry Collins stood in the lobby of the Dolphin Hotel in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. and said he was satisfied with the week …
Discussion:
Mets Fever
RELATED:
Anthony DiComo / MLB.com:
Wilson, Oberkfell among new Mets coaches
Discussion:
Faith and Fear in Flushing, MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com and Yahoo! Sports
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
No deal yet in place for Blanton — According to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.com, the Red Sox have “a deal in place” with Philadelphia to acquire RHP Joe Blanton. — A source told the Globe just now, however, that the Red Sox have not completed any deal and only discussed the idea.
Discussion:
YFSF
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Dodgers add three on Minor League deals — LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers on Monday announced the signings of three veterans to Minor League contracts with invitations to Major League camp. — Infielder Juan Castro, catcher JD Closser and utilityman Eugenio Velez have signed on …
Discussion:
Mike Scioscia's tragic illness, VIN SCULLY IS MY HOMEBOY and MLB Rumors
RELATED:
Associated Press:
MLB's Average Salary Finishes Over $3 Million — NEW YORK (AP) — The average salary in Major League Baseball finished over $3 million for the first time. — The 912 players in the big leagues before rosters expanded in September averaged $3,014,572, the Major League Baseball Players Association said Monday.
Discussion:
Associated Press and Boston Herald
RELATED:
Mike Klingaman / The Toy Department:
Heaven can wait, says Weaver — The New York Times said he was dead. But Earl Weaver, the Orioles' former manager, says it will take more than a story in the newspaper to see him off. — Weaver, 80, is alive and kicking - though with less animation than he did around umpires …
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Mr. Irrelevant …
