Isn't it all but guaranteed at this point?
The New York Yankees on Thursday have gone to a seventh year on their offer to Cliff Lee, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney and ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand.
Sources told ESPNNewYork.com and ESPN.com that the original offer to Lee was for six years and $140 million. Another source briefed on the talks told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that the new offer is for less than the average ($23.3 per year) of the original six-year offer.
SI.com first reported that the Yankees added a seventh year to their offer.
Texas Rangers president Nolan Ryan was told of the Yankees' going to seven years on ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" Thursday morning.
"We have to be concerned about that because seven years for any contract is really stretching it out," he said. "And I don't know how you predict how anyone is performing six or seven years from now."
Ryan didn't say that seven years exceeded the Rangers' limit, but he did say: "Everything has a ceiling that they have to understand what it is. And it doesn't make economic sense after a certain threshold."
Sources told ESPNNewYork.com and ESPN.com that the original offer to Lee was for six years and $140 million. Another source briefed on the talks told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that the new offer is for less than the average ($23.3 per year) of the original six-year offer.
SI.com first reported that the Yankees added a seventh year to their offer.
Texas Rangers president Nolan Ryan was told of the Yankees' going to seven years on ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" Thursday morning.
"We have to be concerned about that because seven years for any contract is really stretching it out," he said. "And I don't know how you predict how anyone is performing six or seven years from now."
Ryan didn't say that seven years exceeded the Rangers' limit, but he did say: "Everything has a ceiling that they have to understand what it is. And it doesn't make economic sense after a certain threshold."
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