What were we offering Lackey when we were after him? $15-$17 million? Something like that? Lee is only $9 million. Getting Lee instead of Lackey gives us a ton more flexibility to address the offense.
And while I'm a huge Bedard fan, Lee is probably far more helpful to this club. First off, I'm not so sure Bedard would be that much cheaper than Lee. There appears to be enough competition for his services to drive the price up. And even if it was incentive laden, the Mariners figure all incentives into their budget. So if had a base of $3 million and incentives for an additional $4, the Mariners would count that as $7 million against the books.
And in addition to not being able to stay healthy for 200+ innings, Bedard had a tough time staying out there for more than 6 innings. With a pen that has been gassed at the end of the past two years, the Mariners needed an inning eater. And now they have one, for cheap, and who is a Cy Young winner. Not to mention he was absolute ice in the playoffs.
I wouldn't worry Mariners ignoring their offense now. They are in a better position to addres it today then they were yesterday.
I'm still spinning on how this one came out of nowhere at us. :)
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