The Yankees moved fast to swoop in and nearly trade for Cliff Lee yesterday before, they feel, the Mariners pulled a fast one and sent the ace left-hander to the Rangers.
That left the Yankees without the piece that would turn their rotation from strong to, perhaps, unbeatable now and in the postseason, and it also left them livid at how Seattle had behaved during this process.
Yankees officials went to bed after Thursday night’s game believing a deal had been finalized with the Mariners for Lee, pending acceptance of the physical reports on Yankees prospects Jesus Montero, David Adams and Zach McAllister.
Late yesterday morning, however, the Mariners expressed concern about Adams, a Double-A second baseman currently on the disabled list with a high ankle sprain. The Mariners asked the Yankees to substitute Single-A right-hander Adam Warren. The Yankees agreed. But Seattle then came back and also asked for touted shortstop prospect Eduardo Nunez.
The Yankees, who had balked at Seattle’s demands for Montero and Nunez weeks ago, again told the Mariners, “No.” At this point, the Yankees figured Seattle simply was stalling because it had another option, which turned out to be accurate.
The Rangers initially had refused to include prized first baseman Justin Smoak in a trade, but with the Yankees on the verge of obtaining Lee, Texas blinked.
The Mariners backed away from the Yankees and accepted a package of Smoak and three other prospects for Lee and right-handed reliever Mark Lowe (who likely is out for the season after back surgery). Seattle agreed to pay $2.25 million of the approximately $4 million remaining in Lee’s salary this season for the cash-strapped Rangers.
“The Yankees do not do business that way,” an angered Yankees official said of the Mariners agreeing to a deal, but backing out before it could be finalized. “When we say something is a deal, it is a deal.
“Yes, this is frustrating and disappointing.”
The turnaround completed a whirlwind 24 hours in which the Yankees went from believing they were merely bystanders in the Lee talks to nearly becoming his new team. Yankees officials were called around midday Thursday and told they were the front-runners because they were willing to include Montero, and that Seattle was valuing a top-flight hitting prospect over all else.
What the Yankees did not know is that the Mariners valued Smoak over Montero. Seattle officials were hoping that the Yankees being on the brink of this acquisition would get the Rangers reconsider trading Smoak.
“We identified a handful of guys and when Texas stepped up and said, ‘This is the player we will give to you, we said, ‘OK,’ ” Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said. “We asked for this player at the very beginning.”
Reacting to the Yankees’ offer, the Rangers offered Smoak, which elated the Mariners and infuriated the Yankees.
“This is a player we desired and we threw different things around and yes there was a point this morning through the conversations, this is the player we want, and they said, OK,’ ” Zduriencik said.
A trade is not complete until all paperwork is finalized and approved by the Commissioners Office. However, baseball — like many businesses — is based on relationships and trusting the word of other people, and that is why the Yanks are so irate about how this negotiation transpired.
“I don’t think 30 general managers would agree that what the Mariners did was real ethical,” another Yankees official said.
Other club officials also were irked about the Mariners’ actions. “It’s disappointing to hear that Jack shopped that around, that’s not right,” an executive from a team not directly involved in this trade said. “You don’t do that with any team and you don’t do it with the Yankees, because [GM Brian] Cashman will drop you in a heartbeat. You don’t use the Yankees because they never forget.”
Lee spoke with Yankees ace CC Sabathia, his friend and former Indians teammate, on Thursday night.
“I was thinking it looks like I might be going to New York,” Lee said. “That’s what they were saying. I think that story [in The Post] triggered other teams to get a little more aggressive.”
Additional reporting by Kevin Kernan