Concerns With the Yankees or Mets Signing Cliff Lee

The Yankees have made some great moves in the past couple of seasons that helped them win a championsihp. 

The Mets, on the other hand, have greatly disappointed some fans with the moves they have made. 

A couple of years ago, Brian Cashman decided to skip on trading for Johnan Santana, save the prospects, and wait a year for free agent ace CC Sabathia. By keeping top prospects Austin Jackson and Phil Hughes, the Yankees used their deep pockets to sign a different ace in Sabathia.

That decision has paid off greatly for the Yankees since they were able to use Jackson in another trade for Curtis Granderson, Phil Hughes has become one of the top young stars in the game, and Sabathia led the team to a 27th Championship.

The Mets, on the other hand, decided to dive into the Santana sweepstakes a couple years ago by giving up their top prospects. Santana had a great first season, but has been up and down and plagued by injury ever since. 

The Mets and the Yankees needs to realize and learn from what happened a few years ago with Santana. Perhaps trading for Cliff Lee might not be the smartest idea. 

The situation is unique for both teams. The Yankees have a good enough rotation to contend for a 28th Championship without Lee. In my opinion, the only way the Yankees will trade for Lee is if the Rays or Red Sox join the race. Besides that, I don't see any other reason for the Yankees to trade for him this season. 

For the Mets, things are very different. They do not have an opportunity to go to the playoffs each and every year. They do not go into every season knowing they are going to be there in September. That is why I think they eed to go ahead and trade for Lee.

The Mets have a very good chance of making the playoffs this season, and by adding Lee to their rotation, their chances of playing late into October greatly increase. 

Even though it paid off for the Yankees by not doing this, the idea of trading a top prospect is something I support. Yes, they have proved themselves at some level, but a top prospect is still not guaranteed to succeed at the major league level. 

Looking back on many past trades, including top prospects, you can't even recognize some of the names on the list. Many of those players do not even make it to the majors. This is why I believe the Mets need to take the chance and trade whatever Seattle wants to get Lee in their rotation. 

Whichever team lands Lee this season will most likely use him as a rental and let him hit the free agent market at the end of the season. This is where the Yankees come in. They don't need him now, but they could sure use Lee in their rotation for next season.

We all know the Yankees have the resources to sign him in the offseason, so why should they trade away guys like Jesus Montero for someone they don't really need this season?

My gut feeling is that the Mets will trade for Cliff Lee soon and get him in their rotation to start right after the All-Star break. After this season and an intense bidding war, I think that the Wilpon family will dig deep into their pockets and sign Lee to a long term contract. 

These are some of my concerns and predictions with either the Mets or Yankees signing Cliff Lee this season.