Philadelphia Phillies withdraw Cliff Lee from waivers as Los Angeleshttp://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/lad/los-angeles-dodgersDodgers claim him - MLB News
The Philadelphia Phillies have taken back their left hander Cliff Lee from the waivers, implying that the kind of prospects they demand from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the club that attempted to claim Lee, are not being offered to them. Earlier before the
trade deadline, despite the fact that the Phillies presented Lee in the market, no deal materialised because the asking price was too high by the club.
The Phillies are trying their best to build a strong roster for the future. For this, they are even ready to sacrifice those players that command great respect in the club-house and that maintain expensive contracts with the organisation.
Players like Lee and the starting pitcher Joe Blanton make the Phillies’ rotation among the best in the National League. Lee holds the credentials to win games for the team on regular basis and do not allow even the strongest of the opponents to score runs
against him.
However, the current year has been tough on him as he struggled to record wins for the Phillies.
While he may still be capable of showing the same kind of dominance that the Phillies fancied from him in the first place, the organisation is certainly not thinking in this direction. The Phillies are more concerned about acquiring young players that can
get the team to new heights in the years to come.
Furthermore, the fact Lee fetches hefty amount of money every year as a salary has encouraged Philadelphia to reduce the financial burden and use the same money for acquiring new prospects.
However, the reality right now is that the Phillies cannot put Lee on waivers again in this month after pulling him. Therefore, the starting pitcher is going to stay in the club-house and if not traded will continue grabbing the bulk of the yearly salary
paid by the organisation to their players.
Meanwhile, Lee will be trying to make the most of whatever amount of time he has left to stay in the club by delivering better performances on the mound.
It will be interesting to see the next time the Phillies attempt to trade him and what kind of package they try to negotiate for then.
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