Rangers Brass Lost Cliff Lee Derby on Own Terms

by Marc Lancaster

Filed under: Phillies, Rangers, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Free Agency

The question for the Rangers, when it came down to the decisive moments in their negotiations with Cliff Lee, was how badly -- and for how long -- they wanted the most coveted pitcher on the market.

For the next three, four, five years, there was no doubt in their minds that Lee was worth the commitment. But when informed earlier this week that Lee would remain with Texas if the Rangers guaranteed him a seven-year contract, the American League champions decided they couldn't do it.

"In this instance, it was simply a matter of us saying yes," Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg said Tuesday on a conference call. "But it would have been a matter of us saying yes on terms that we weren't comfortable with. This was not a matter of Cliff making a decision not to come to Texas. He was willing to remain a Ranger. But it was on terms that we felt went beyond the aggressive parameters within which we were already operating."

In other words, the Rangers already were prepared to overextend themselves for the 32-year-old pitcher, but there was a limit.

 

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