Cliff Lee: Trade Rumors, Noxious Gas Swirl Around Ace Pitcher

Cliff Lee is likely on his way out of Philadelphia by the end of this month. The trade rumors surrounding Lee are starting to heat up, thanks to his return to the mound on Monday night.

Cliff was making his first start since May 18, and the rust was certainly evident and pretty predictable. What wasn’t all that predictable was the rather stinky way in which Lee, a lefty pitcher who has long been considered among the best in baseball, would respond to being asked about trade rumors.

The Huffington Post reports that while Cliff was talking to reporters after lasting just 5.2 innings and allowing 12 hits and 6 runs, his start apparently didn’t sit well with him.

As Lee wrapped up the interview, he let loose with a rather large fart that was easily picked up by the microphones surrounding the former Cy Young winner.

While he may not be able to keep noxious gas from escaping before he’s away from the cameras, it seems as though Cliff Lee will be able to escape from the moribund Philadelphia Phillies franchise by the trade deadline.

When Lee signed his free-agent contract with the Phillies, Cliff included a number of teams he would need to approve before he could be traded to those cities. A new report, being released by ESPN.com, has a number of teams the club could trade Lee to without his approval.

The nine teams that Lee could be dealt to without his say so are the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals.

Obviously, the Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets and Miami Marlins are likely not going to be in the market to acquire the high priced pitcher.

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN noted that quite a few scouts were in Philadelphia during Lee’s last start. While there isn’t a way to say expressly all the scouts were there to see Cliff, it seems likely the teams would love to have a veteran presence in their rotation.

Crasnick also pointed out the some of teams the Phillies can trade Lee to were there. Scouts from the Tigers, Pirates, Orioles, Mariners, Angels, Royals, Blue Jays and Giants were all in attendance.

The New York Yankees have also long been a team that has coveted Cliff, and it stands to reason they could be in the sweepstakes for Lee after CC Sabathia was ruled out for the season.

It goes without saying that Cliff Lee will need to log a better start than Monday’s if he wants to land on a contender.

[Image Via gammonsdaily.com]