According to a major league source, the Red Sox were not the team that claimed Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee off waivers Friday. It was reported earlier in the day by CBSSports.com that the lefty had been claimed, meaning Philadelphia can pull Lee off waivers, assign his contract to the team that claimed him, or work out a trade with the claiming team. Lee has it in his contract that he can block trades or claims 21 teams.
UPDATE: According to Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com (via twitter [1]), the Dodgers were the team awarded the waiver claim on the left-hander.
The almost-34-year-old Lee is making $21 million this season, and $25 million per season through the '15 season. He also has a vesting option for the '16 campaign which would pay him $27.5 million.
Lee has a 3.73 ERA in 18 starts this season, having won just two games (2-6). In his first full season with the Phillies ('11), the southpaw went 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA, completing 232 2/3 innings.
The Red Sox did offer Lee a seven-year deal following the '10 season, although it was learned later that it was for an annual salary millions of dollars below the $24 million annual average for which he signed with Philadelphia. The Sox' motivation for the interest was to drive up the price for the Yankees.
For more Red Sox news, go to the team page at weei.com/redsox [2].
Links:
[1] https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/231513062513971201
[2] http://weei.com/redsox
[3] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/red-sox