MLB

Yankees offer Lee 7 years, but fear he may slip away

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Yankees’ money offered to Cliff Lee has sweat stains on it.

When it comes to high-end free agents, the Yankees are used to getting their way.

They seduced CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira with many years and oceans of money and secured the ace pitcher and No. 3 switch-hitter.

Now, they have used the same recipe with Cliff Lee. This time, however, there is a sense of apprehension running through the organization that any of the three contract scenarios — five, six or seven years — may not be enough to lure Lee to The Bronx.

They understand the Rangers aren’t going away quietly, and that Texas may have increased its offer to six years. The Yankees also know the Angels have plenty of money.

Yesterday, Rangers brass, minus their top two baseball minds — Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan — traveled to Arkansas to talk to Lee.

“You have to adapt to changing circumstances and situations,” Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg said. “After the Carl Crawford signing [by the Red Sox], it didn’t take too much time for us to realize the situation had changed. Tactics change all the time. Early in the day [Wednesday] our outlook was based on one set of circumstances. Later in the day, circumstances had changed.”

The Yankees’ offers work on a scale in which the shorter the term, the higher the annual average value. It is believed the bids work something like this:

* Five years for $125 million.

* Six years for $144 million.

* Seven years for $161 million.

* That breaks down to $25 million a year, $24 million a year and $23 million a year, respectively.

Sabathia’s seven-year, $161 million deal is the record for both total overall dollars for a pitcher in a multiyear deal and the most in average annual value ($23 million) for a pitcher on a multiyear contract.

It is possible that, to finalize a deal, the Yankees will have to further sweeten a bid or, perhaps, form a hybrid in which Lee receives the higher annual value on a five-year term, but has player options in Year 6 and/or 7.

“We conveyed a menu of multiple offers which represented substantial additional commitment for both years and dollars to land his services,” Greenberg said.

So, the Yankees sit. And sweat.

“You have to wait,” GM Brian Cashman said on his way out of the Winter Meetings yesterday. “He is worth waiting for. You have to let the process play out and ultimately respect his decision.”

Could seven years and record money be enough to deliver a pitcher the Yankees desperately need? Maybe not.

The question is, do the Rangers want to invest roughly 25 percent of their payroll in one player?

The Angels, stiffed by Crawford, have money to spend and expressed an “interest” in Lee yesterday. However, they could use the Crawford dollars to sign third baseman Adrian Beltre and closer Rafael Soriano.

Lee’s agent, Darek Braunecker, turned down the Rangers’ request for him to tell them what it was going to take to sign the lefty. Instead, he wanted to hear what the Rangers have to offer.

At the beginning of the process the Rangers were reluctant to go to five years. Will they go two more?

“I am not going to talk about negotiations,” Daniels said. “Draw your own conclusions.”

But that was before the meeting in Arkansas.

Obviously, the Yankees would have enjoyed seeing Crawford in Anaheim and not Boston, where stud first baseman Adrian Gonzalez landed via trade this past Sunday.

However, Cashman wasn’t distraught about Crawford not joining the Yankees.

“We never made an offer,” said Cashman, who dined with Crawford Tuesday night. “He was not a need for us.”

Lee is more than a need. He is a must-sign. And if it takes more money, so be it.

Signing Lee could get Andy Pettitte feeling he wants to be part of a championship-caliber team again. Not getting Lee could send Pettitte into retirement and turn the Yankees’ offseason intoa disaster.

Additional reporting by Joel Sherman

george.king@nypost.com