Mariners Blog

Geoff Baker covers the Mariners for The Seattle Times. He provides daily coverage of the team throughout spring training, and during the season.

December 14, 2009 at 1:08 PM

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Report: Cliff Lee to Mariners in a three-way deal

Posted by Geoff Baker

By the way, I can confirm an earlier report out of Venezuela that the Mariners have indeed signed catcher Eliezer Alfonso to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Look for him to be that "veteran insurance" the team had sought while it waits to see how healthy Rob Johnson is this spring.

Yes, we are tracking down this Jon Heyman tweet from today saying the Mariners have agreed to a three-way deal with the Phillies and Blue Jays that would send lefty Cliff Lee to Seattle, Roy Halladay to the Phils and prospects to Toronto.

I'm told the Blue Jays need some relief help, especially after B.J. Ryan flamed out on them this past season and was subsequently released. Look for Phillippe Aumont to be included in any deal. Also, look for Tyson Gilles to possibly be included, given the fact he's Canadian and the type of up-and-coming prospect the Jays would be thrilled to have in their system. Michael Saunders is also Canadian, and you'd have to consider him. That farm in Toronto was left rather bare by the J.P. Ricciardi years.

If this deal goes down, the Mariners would instantly have one of the best one-two starting punches in baseball. In a lot of ways, this trumps any effort to get John Lackey. Provided, that is, the M's can lock him up long-term.

I just got told by a Toronto source that Halladay is in Philly right now attempting to negotiate a long-term deal ahead of any confirmed trade. We're hearing that the commissioner's office has been asked to grant a window for this type of stuff to be negotiated ahead of time.

Mariners Blog

Report: Cliff Lee to Mariners in a three-way deal

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