The Seattle Mariners have completed the trade with the Philadelphia Phillies that brings former Cy Young-winning pitcher Cliff Lee to the M’s.
The trade, considered one of historic proportions because it involves two former Cy Young winners, is part of a complex four-team arrangement involving the Mariners, Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland A’s.
Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik planned to speak with reporters this afternoon.
The catalyst was the Blue Jays’ trade of ace right-hander Roy Halladay to the Phillies. Halladay completed a reported three-year, $60 million contract extension two days ago and passed his physical exam on Tuesday.
That allowed the Phillies to trade away Lee, who they chose not to keep because of the $9 million he will receive this year and his impending free agency after this season.
The Mariners traded three minor leaguers to the Phillies — right-handed pitchers Phillippe Aumont and Juan Ramirez, and outfielder Tyson Gillies. Both Ramirez and Gillies played for the Everett AquaSox in 2007.
About an hour before confirmation of the Mariners’ side of the trade, a report from the Toronto Sun said one of the seven minor-league players involved had failed his physical exam. Later, it became known that the failed physical was not connected with any of the three players the Mariners were sending to the Phillies.
“We are very excited to have Cliff Lee on-board in the Seattle organization,” Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a release from the team. “It goes without saying what a quality pitcher and competitor he is and what he will mean to our ballclub and organization.
“I also want to congratulate Philadelphia and Toronto on how this whole deal was handled. We gave up three very nice prospects to Philadelphia. I think they will be a nice piece of the Phillies’ future, and I want to thank Tyson, Phillippe and JC, and let them know we’ll be rooting for them as they progress towards the Majors. It was not an easy decision for us, but we could not pass up the opportunity to add a pitcher a Lee’s ability to our major league team.”
Lee, 31, went 14-13 with a 3.22 ERA and pitched a career-high 231 2/3 innings in 34 starts with the Cleveland Indians and Phillies. After joining the Phillies July 29 in a six-player trade, he went 7-4, 3.39 and was a rock in the postseason.
Lee won all four of his postseason starts, including two victories over the Yankees in the World Series. In Game 1 of the Series, he struck out 10 and did not allow an earned run in a complete-game victory. He became the second pitcher in World Series history to throw a complete-game victory in which he had double-digit strikeouts and did not allow a walk. The other pitcher to accomplish this was the Pirates’ Deacon Phillippe in Game 1 of the 1903 World Series.
Lee won the American League Cy Young award in 2008 after going 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA for the Indians.
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