Cliff Lee Claimed Off Waivers; Could Trade Be Next?

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that Cliff Lee was claimed off waivers. According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, the Dodgers were awarded claiming rights on Phillies' left-hander.

However, Leslie Guidel of Comcast SportsNet spoke with Ruben Amaro Jr. who said Lee isn't going anywhere.

The reality is the Dodgers now have three days to work out a trade with the Phillies, but Morosi and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports are both hearing that a deal is seen as unlikely. The Phillies have the option of pulling Lee back from waivers and keeping him.

It was reported earlier in the week by Jeff Passan of YahooSports.com that the Phillies placed Lee on waivers which is a pretty common practice this time of the year. However, Lee was expected to clear waivers, so it comes as a minor surprise that he was claimed today.

So what does this mean?

The Phillies can simply pull him back from waivers. Of course, they could also assign Lee's contract to the team that won the claim or try to work out a trade with the claiming team.

Lee has the ability to block trades to 21 teams.

Filed Under: Cliff Lee, Dodgers, Phillies, Rumors, Trade, waivers

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