How Available is Cliff Lee?

The Phillies may be just 7.5 games behind the first place Atlanta Braves and 5.5 games back from the wild card leading Pirates and Reds, but they are simply too old to contend with these elite young clubs through September. With July 31 approaching, Philadelphia should look to be sellers in this year’s trade deadline and attempt to rebuild quickly much like the Boston Red Sox have done in the past year.

Reuben Amaro Jr. is one of baseball’s best general managers, but once he retires, Amaro will not be remembered for creating some of the best Phillies teams, but as the man who traded Cliff Lee, not once but twice. And did the right thing.

Cliff Lee is by far Philadelphia’s best pitcher. Through July 12, Lee had a team best 10-3 record, 2.86 ERA, 125 strikeouts, and 138.2 innings.

Lee is not only the best Philadelphia pitcher this season, but has also been one of the game’s best pitchers through the past decade. With a career record of 135-81 since his 2001 debut with the Cleveland Indians, it is a surprise Lee has yet to find a consistent home. Despite his success, Lee has played on four teams in five years, including two stints in Philly. Lee has become a usual commodity on the midseason trading block; subsequently he has only played a full season with a single team twice since 2009.

Amaro acquired Lee, the reigning Cy Young Award winner, in 2009 in a blockbuster trade deadline deal with the Indians for a collection of prospects. Lee helped lead the Phillies to a second straight National League title before falling to the Yankees in the World Series. That offseason, Amaro traded Lee for the first time, to the Seattle Mariners.

In Seattle, Lee had an 8-3 record with three straight complete games before being relocated within the division to the Texas Rangers. Once again, Lee helped his team reach the World Series but failed to capture a ring when the Giants captured their first of two World Series in three years.

After the 2010 campaign, Lee returned to the Phillies as a free agent. In the past two and a half seasons, Lee has a 33-21 record and 575 strikeouts.

As an aging team, the Phillies could consider unloading contracts and Lee has to be at the root of that discussion. Almost any team in contention would value Lee’s experience and proven success to help them reach the playoffs.

A likely destination for Lee, if Amaro lets the one of the National League’s best pitchers of the century go again, could be the National League Central. Both the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates could gain an advantage on one another by acquiring yet another stellar arm to fill out their rotation. The Reds might also express interest in Lee to keep up with the almost unfair pitching of Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

Other potential destinations for Lee could be Arizona and Baltimore. Other than Patrick Corbin, the Diamondbacks are struggling with starting pitching and Lee could help protect first place from the Yasiel Puig-led Dodgers. The Orioles also have issues with their starters and Lee would automatically be the young, inexperienced staff’s ace.

Assuming Lee is traded, Amaro will make the right move by getting rid of the four-time All-Star, again. All five teams listed above have strong farm systems that can produce prospects valuable to Philadelphia rebuilding. Lee may be the best available pitcher on the market this July, which will help bring minor league talent and future All-Stars to The City of Brotherly Love, as well as a potential World Series in the coming years.