The starting pitching market could be in for a huge shakeup.
Multiple teams are making a late run at the Phillies with offers for pitcher Cliff Lee, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. didn’t discuss the extent of others teams’ interest in his pitcher, but he also didn’t rule out listening to offers.
“I never put any real absolutes on anything,” Amaro told ESPN.com Friday. “Although we don’t have any desire to move a guy like that because we view him as someone who will be key to our future, I am a businessperson as well and I’ll be a good listener.
“I can’t sit here and say I’m not going to trade Chase [Utley], or Cliff, or Michael Young or Chooch [Carlos Ruiz], or any of these guys. Some guys are less tradeable than others. But I think I owe it to us as an organization to listen. If teams are going to come at us and suggest things, I’m not going to turn off the faucet and stop listening to them.”
Jake Peavy, Ervin Santana and Bud Norris are among the names being tossed around in trade speculation in the wake of Matt Garza‘s trade to the Rangers. Lee goes above and beyond those hurlers, though, as he’s widely considered a legitimate ace.
Lee, who signed a five-year, $120 million contract in December 2010, is 10-4 with a 3.05 ERA in 20 starts this season. He’s a four-time All-Star, and the 34-year-old won the American League Cy Young while pitching for the Indians in 2008.
The Phillies may or may not trade Lee, but they’re certainly active. Philadelphia reportedly outbid Boston to sign Cuban pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez to a six-year contract on Friday.
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