Report: Rangers eye reunion with Phillies' Lee
The Rangers would welcome Cliff Lee back to Arlington, but talks with the Phillies might lead Texas to shop elsewhere.
According to ESPN.com, Lee is a target of the Rangers again. The asking price -- as it was in free agency before the 2011 season, when Lee left the Rangers to sign with the Phillies -- will be prohibitive unless a team decides Lee can be the missing piece to a World Series run.
Lee was acquired in July 2010 from Seattle and helped guide the Rangers to the World Series. He became a free agent in the offseason and signed with a five-year, $120 million deal with the Phillies, who'd dealt Lee to the Mariners in December 2009.
Lee is 1-6 with a 3.95 ERA this season. He's a month away from his 34th birthday with three years, $75 million remaining on his contract after the 2012 season. There's also a vesting player option for the 2016 season, when Lee will be 37, worth $27.5 million. The option is automatically guaranteed with 200 innings pitched in 2015 and has a $12.5 million buyout clause.
The Rangers might be more willing to make a move for a pitcher after Neftali Feliz was scratched from his injury rehab start on Sunday.
Right-hander Colby Lewis is out for the season with a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow. He had been the team's postseason ace in two runner-up World Series finishes, going 4-1 with a 2.34 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 50 innings.
Veteran right-hander Roy Oswalt, who signed at midseason, missed one start with back stiffness and has had chronic back issues in his career.
