Spokane7
49°
July 9, 2010 in Sports
M’s trade Cliff Lee to Rangers
Get Justin Smoak, 3 minor leaguers
The Texas Rangers have traded first baseman Justin Smoak and three minor leaguers to the Seattle Mariners for ace starter Cliff Lee and reliever Mark Lowe.
(Full-size photo)
SEATTLE — Cliff Lee is headed to Texas.
A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press that the ace left-hander and reliever Mark Lowe have been traded to the A.L. West-leading Rangers for first baseman Justin Smoak and three minor leaguers.
The person requested anonymity because an official announcement had yet to be made. The Rangers and Mariners both scheduled press conferences for later Friday.
It was the third trade in less than a year for Lee, who can become a free agent after this season. The 2008 A.L. Cy Young Award winner went 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts for the Mariners, who acquired him from the Philadelphia Phillies in December.
Smoak is one of the top prospects in the majors, but hit .209 in 70 games for Texas this season.
© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Teams play odds 
MrNatural on July 09 at 3:19 p.m.
UGH!…stupid is as stupid does…well…at least as a Spokane Indians fan I can still get some benefit…
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again the Seattle Manures are just a farm club for the major leagues
reservedparking on July 09 at 3:26 p.m.
Why in the world would the Mariners trade their best pitcher to a team in their same division? All the Rangers are gonna do is put him up against the Mariners and clean our clocks… more so than normal!
At least they should have traded him to an NL team….
rpmarp on July 09 at 4:29 p.m.
I have purchased my last ticket to a Mariners’ game as long as Doctor Z and Wakamatsu are there. Quoth the Raven, “nevermore”!
spokanesausage on July 09 at 6:14 p.m.
Let’s hope this is more like the Langston for Johnson trade and not like every other trade they’ve had the short end of.
sixpencentr24 on July 09 at 7:22 p.m.
reservedparking, i think what you are forgetting is that lee’s contract ends at the end of the year and there is no way that the rangers will be able to sign him beyond this season (especially when you consider the financial mess they are in).
lee is only a rent-a-player for the rangers (at least that’s what the mariners’ are banking on). giving him up to a division rival doesn’t always make sense, but as far as everyone is concerned, seattle’s season is all but done now being so far out of first place. what’s another two or three games that lee might beat us amount to in the grand scheme?
i’m happy with the trade - i couldn’t see us signing lee long term, so getting four guys for him has some potential to be good. i hate to admit it, but i would have preferred montero from new york, but smoak could work out well on our team.
gm z’s legacy will certainly hinge on this trade (at least at this point in his career).
spokanecougar on July 09 at 11:06 p.m.
sad panda