Lee set to pitch Monday vs. Giants
ATLANTA — Cliff Lee could have returned from an eight-week absence from the Phillies’ starting rotation for Saturday’s game against the Braves. It would have come on normal rest for the veteran left-hander, whose final minor-league rehabilitation start came Tuesday for Class A Clearwater.
That, however, would have pushed someone off Ryne Sandberg’s sevenday plan.
“I wanted to keep everyone on seven days’ rest,” Sandberg said. “He’ll get an extra two (days between starts) like everyone else.”
“I would have preferred to stay on five days,” Lee said, “but they’re erring on the side of caution.”
The decision to start Lee Monday at home against the Giants creates an interesting dynamic. Lee will start that game, then again Saturday, July 26, against the Diamondbacks.
It means contending teams will have two starts to gauge if Lee, 35, can be good enough in the final two-plus months to make an offer that would pique the Phillies’ interest before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. The deadline arrives three hours before Lee would make his third start at Washington.
If anything it speaks to the fact that the Phillies don’t have an expectation that Lee can be traded before July 31. That delay also could assist them procedurally — the last two seasons Lee, who never had an arm issue in his career prior to the strained elbow that landed him on the disabled list May 20, was claimed on the waiver wire, forcing the Phillies to pull him back and thus make him ineligible to be traded in August. This year, with the Yankees struggling and Red Sox completely out of the mix, claiming Lee and the $47.5 million he has guar- anteed from the beginning of August until the end of the 2015 season might be too risky a bet by a team intending to block his being traded to a rival.
Lee tried to deflect any speculation about what these next handful of starts will mean for his trade value. And he has a point in that no trade can happen unless he is able to pitch effectively and pain-free.
“It is what it is. It’s out of my control,” said Lee, who has a $25 million salary in 2015 with a $12.5 million buyout of 2016’s $27.5 million price tag. “I know it’s the trade deadline, and I know we haven’t played well this year and potentially guys could get traded. I’m obviously one of those guys. I don’t know what to think other than that.
“Right now I’m a Phillie and I’m going to try to help this team win. Hopefully we can turn it around and get on a stretch and get up close to the trade deadline and next thing you know we’re closer to being back in it and it’s not an issue. But the next couple of weeks we’ll be able to tell.”
Lee said that the residual sensation in his elbow went away once he was able to begin throwing in earnest off the mound and that he’s had no unusual twinges since.
As for how many pitches he could give Monday...
“As many as they will let me throw,” he said. “I’m probably not going to want to come out when I come out. I don’t know the exact number, but I feel strong ...”
After spending his All-Star break in Cape May, N.J., Sandberg seemed more anxious to see the players who haven’t been on his roster in the last couple of months than the ones on it.
Asked about what he wants to see in the second half of the season, Sandberg rattled off the names of Lee, Carlos Ruiz (out for the last three weeks with a concussion), Freddy Galvis (fractured clavicle) and Darin Ruf (fractured ankle).
“In a few days we’ll have Cliff Lee back in the rotation. I’m anxious to see him,” Sandberg said. “Chooch could be back within a week or so. Freddy Galvis has been activated in Lehigh Valley (but not before hitting a home run for Clearwater in his last game there). Darin Ruf is playing (for the Iron Pigs). So to see those possibilities on the horizon, it’s something to look forward to. Hopefully that can transpire into more Ws on the board for us.”
In keeping with that the theme of shaking things up, Sandberg had Grady Sizemore starting in left field and batting sixth Friday night against the Braves, as Domonic Brown watched from the bench.
“He’s looked good,” Sandberg said of Sizemore, who could make four or five starts per week in left and center fields. “He has a really good approach at the plate. He’s a professional hitter, as expected. He’s aggressive and running well. All in all, he looks good.”
Ruiz went 1-for-3 with two runs scored serving as a designated hitter for Clearwater Friday night. Infielder Reid Brignac (2-for-3) made his second rehab assignment appearance after suffering a high-ankle sprain a month ago that landed him on the disabled list. Backup catcher (15-day D.L., quad strain) Wil Nieves went 0-for-4 for Double-A Reading serving as D.H.