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February 26, 2016With Spring Training starting up across the country, it appears as though former Cleveland Indians’ ace and Cy Young winner Cliff Lee’s career in the MLB is over. His agent, Darek Braunecker told FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal that Lee, the 140-game winning left-hander, is set to retire.
In December, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman speculated that Lee was looking for a one-year deal with a winning team. Whether it was the fact that no such team was willing to sign the lefty or he just decided to hang it up, the former Indians’ days in baseball appear to have ended.
If you forgot, Lee was traded to Philadelphia in 2009, along with outfielder Ben Francisco, for four minor league prospects. The trade marked the second consecutive season that the Indians traded their Cy Young winner as they traded CC Sabathia the season before.
In his 13-year career, the lefty had a 143-91 record in 328 games (324 starts), while earning himself a 3.52 ERA, 1,824 strikeouts, and 29 complete games. With the Indians from his rookie season in 2002 until 2009, the 37-year-old owned a 4.01 ERA with 826 strikeouts and having an 83-48 record. Although he struggled early on, Lee found his groove in 2008 when he had a 2.54 ERA and given the AL Cy Young award. In 2008, the four-time All Star led the American League in wins, ERA, shutouts, ERA+, FIP, walks per nine innings and home runs per nine innings during his Cy Young campaign.
The University of Arkansas graduate didn’t play in 2015. In his final season in the MLB in 2014, Lee had a 4-5 record with a 3.65 ERA and striking out 72 opposing batters. He did not pitch in 2015 due to a shoulder injury last March.
One of the biggest names the Indians received from the Phillies? Pitcher Carlos Carrasco. The right-hander, who is now one of the club’s top pitchers, was recently the sixth-best odds to win the AL Cy Young in 2016 by one oddsmaker. Cleveland also acquired catcher Lou Marson, infiedler Jason Donald, and pitcher Jason Knapp in the deal for the former Cy Young winner.
8 Comments
The Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez deals were the days the Indians fanbase died.
What, no mention of how he handcuffed the Indians by announcing that he would not ever resign with them. I hate Lee. Here’s to hoping he rots away quickly.
Two sides to every story:
They told my agent that when we got to spring training this year, we’ll talk about an extension. We get there, the first half of spring goes by…nothing. We get down toward the end, they call me in the office and tell me, ‘Never mind. We’ve changed our minds.’
At that point, I told them: ‘For me, now’s the time. After this year, I’m going to be one year from free agency, and you’re going to have to pick up my option if I’m pitching well. Otherwise, I’m a free agent. It doesn’t make sense to do it one year out when I just watched what CC did.’
eric wedge was the manager – who in their right mind would want to play for him anyway
Hilarious that Carrasco and Brantley were the guys that paid off from Lee/CC.
And one of the next lines “Darek Braunecker is going to try to kill it with this guy”
Lee was willing to re-sign, at top of the market prices.
The team finished 12th, 12th, 12th, 11th,10th, and 9th in the AL in attendance in the six years before those trades. The fanbase was already dead, and the inability to come up with the cash to re-sign those guys was a result of the dead fanbase, not a cause of it.
The fans never bothered to show up when Sabathia and Lee were on the team and pitching well, so I have no idea why they still complain about the trades even to today.
Classy guy… He’ll be missed.