The intense marketing of pitcher Cliff Lee, the top free agent of the offseason, will now throw much of the major signings into limbo.
At least we can be thankful the Nationals jumped in quickly on Jayson Werth.
Lee’s agent, Darek Braunecker, had wanted to use baseball’s Winter Meetings to gauge interest in his client and to make sure he was getting the best deal possible.
With a list that now includes the Nats, Rangers, Yankees, Angels, Phillies and a mention of a “mystery” team, his mission is accomplished.
Braunecker rolled out of Florida on Wednesday afternoon.
What is likely to come now is a long and drawn-out process of mulling each offer and picking the best landing spot for the prized southpaw.
Teams that want to take a shot at Lee likely will have to hold off on other major deals to make sure they can still land the lefty — or drop out of the race.
