“Yahoo! Sports, citing an industry source, reports the Yankees have offered free-agent SP Cliff Lee a six-year, $140 million contract but that Lee is holding out for a seventh year. Neither side would confirm the numbers to Yahoo!’s Tim Brown. The $23.3 million average cited in Brown’s report is slightly higher than the $23 million per season that the Yankees gave SP CC Sabathia in the 2008 offseason (in a seven-year agreement), and the $22.9 million that the Mets gave SP Johan Santana in 2008 (in a six-year pact). Many people expect Lee to eventually sign with the Yankees, but the Rangers have signaled they will try to keep Lee and match the Yankees’ offers.”

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