Dodgers Facing Tough Competition for Cliff Lee

I don’t think too much lobbying needs to be done to explain the talent and value of the Seattle ace (and no, that’s not King Felix I’m talking about). I’ll give another nod and notice to his strikeouts to walks ratio, which currently sits at nearly 17:1, just because it is so eye-popping. What is worth mentioning is the enormous impact he will have on a contender after he gets traded from the cellar dwelling Seattle Mariners.

Lee is currently making 9 million dollars and is a free agent after the year. If he’s traded in July, he will cost the acquiring team a mere 4 or 5 million dollars for the rest of the year. Given his ability, no interested party should have much difficulty in finagling that amount of cash. The Mariners would probably be more than willing to pay for his entire contract, if the return on prospects was greater. This financial relief will create a virtual feeding frenzy for Lee at the deadline.

Lee would be a dream get for the strapped-for-cash Dodgers. A top 4 of Lee, Kershaw, Billingsley, and Kuroda would heavily tilt the NL West towards the Dodgers favor and strongly aid their quest to go to the World Series. The Dodgers shouldn’t hesitate to overpay in minor league talent. I think Ned Colletti knows this as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Dodgers were offering up their two or three best prospects in the entire system, such as Aaron Miller and Dee Gordon. Unfortunately, even that may not be enough to outbid all the others.