Many Rangers fans felt spurned by Cliff Lee after he opted to leave money on the table in 2010 to leave the Texas Rangers and sign with the Philadelphia Phillies -- the same team that traded him to the Seattle Mariners to make room for Roy Halladay.
Now, it looks like the Rangers could kick the tires on Lee -- and potentially reacquire the left hander, should the Rangers fail to acquire either Cole Hamels or Zack Greinke.
The Rangers had their top scout in attendance for Wednesday's ace matchup between the Dodgers (Kershaw) and Phillies (Lee). Further, Danny Knobler of CBS Sports has multiple sources that believe the Rangers would consider trading for Lee -- again.
One long-shot option the Rangers would consider, according to sources: A reunion with Cliff Lee.
There are significant obstacles to a trade with the Phillies for Lee, including a contract that guarantees him $25 million each of the next three seasons and also includes a $12.5 million buyout for 2016.
But the Rangers have always liked Lee, and they did have a scout watch him Wednesday in Los Angeles, as reported by CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury. Lee pitched well against the light-hitting Dodgers, allowing one run on two hits in eight innings to lower his ERA to 3.72.
Trading Lee might make the most sense for the Phillies. It's clear that the Phillies want to re-sign Cole Hamels and would rather not trade him, or watch him walk in free agency and sign with somebody like the Los Angeles Dodgers -- who Hamels has expressed interest in playing for.
By trading Lee, the Phillies would be able to restock their farm system a bit while freeing up money to keep their own home grown ace, and 2008 World Series MVP.
Jon Daniels can never be counted on to make a big splash, and it appears that he's got plenty of options leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
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