Yes. But we would have to include a big league SP, likely Bills. In addition to a couple of our top 10-15 guys. EDIT: Players on the 40-man roster would have to clear waivers, so Bills nor Caps is not likely.
Not to mention that Cliff Lee hasnt been the same guy he was when he signed the contract... a heavily back loaded contract (which I know we count the AAV more then we do actual salary but still) and the Phillies really have ZERO leverage with 16 pitchers on their roster making 20 million plus next season and beyond.
thought so Dodgers Awarded Claiming Rights On Cliff LeeBy Ben Nicholson-Smith [August 3 at 5:16pm CST]5:16pm: The Dodgers were awarded Lee's claiming rights, tweets Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. This means that all NL teams with a record worse than the Dodgers' 56-50 mark (every NL team except the Reds, Nationals, Pirates, Braves, Giants and Cardinals) first passed on Lee.
Given that the Dodgers won the Blanton deal and Amaro and Ned were talking, I wonder if Lee's name was talked about during that conversation. It had to have come up. Right? Maybe Ammaro gave Ned the inclination that he was willing to eat part of the contract for a premier prospect or Ned intimated that he was willing to eat the whole thing.
It's funny, the Kings are referred to as the Flyers of the West because so many ex-Flyer coaches and players now play for them. Now the Dodgers may become the Phillies of the West, hahah...
I love this. If we get Lee, great. if we don't, the owners just made a big statement that they are out there to win. We are the McCourt's Dodgers no more. We're not fucking around anymore.
He definitely has the green light because the Phillies can give him to us at this point, and we'd have to take him and the contract.
MLBTradeRumors poll... Poll: Should The Phillies Let Cliff Lee Go?By Zach Links [August 4 at 1:54pm CST]Last night, the Dodgers were awarded claiming rights on Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee after the nine other National League clubs with worse records declined. By claiming Lee, the Dodgers opened themselves up to the possibility of either trading for the left-hander or being assigned his contract which would saddle them with roughly $95MM in future commitments. The struggling Phillies could help kickstart their rebuilding effort and slim down their bloated payroll by letting Lee go out west, but as it stands it doesn't seem like Ruben Amaro Jr. wants to consider it. "It's irrelevant. [Lee] is not going anywhere," said the GM.It's not hard to understand why the Phillies would be reluctant to let Lee go. The soon-to-be 34-year-old has been a bright spot for the club this year, posting a 3.73 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 18 starts. While his performance may not put him near the top in Cy Young voting this year as it did in 2011, there's no denying that Lee is still going strong and could help anchor the Phillies' rotation in 2013 and beyond.However, Lee's contract calls for him to make $21.5MM in 2012 and $25MM per season through 2015. The committment could also extend through 2016 as he has a $27.5MM vesting option with a $12.5MM buyout. The Phillies stretched their payroll to retain Cole Hamels to a six-year (or, potentially seven-year) extension and wiping Lee's salary from the books would help restore some flexibility.and what do the readers think?...
