Tribe Locks up Cliff Lee
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The Cleveland Indians signed left-handed starting pitcher Cliff Lee through 2009 with a club option for 2010. ESPN is reporting that the deal is worth $14 million for the first three years, the club option is for $8 million and there is another $1 million in award and incentive bonuses included in the deal.
Lee's next start, scheduled to be against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday will be the 100th of his career.
Lee, 27, was acquired by the Indians in 2002 as a minor league prospect in the trade that sent Bartolo Colon to Montreal. Lee currently owns a career record of 44-25 and has posted a 4.47 ERA for his career thus far. His .638 career winning percentage ranks 12th among active pitchers with at least 40 victories.
Lee was set to be eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career after this season. This deal will take Lee through his arbitration years and falls in line with a recent Indians' organizational trend.
The Indians have also taken the time to lock up designated hitter Travis Hafner, left-hander C.C. Sabathia, catcher Victor Martinez, center fielder Grady Sizemore and infielder Jhonny Peralta for the same reasons. These six players are seen as the teams core talent and the Tribe has invested more than $103 million of guaranteed money into these deals.
Sources
Date
Tue 08/08/06, 10:31 am EST
