Good morning everyone, hope you slept well!
Phillies and Diamondbacks discussed Cliff Lee for Justin Upton swap?: Overnight, Ken Rosenthal reported that the Arizona Diamondbacks are pursuing an elite starting pitcher, with Cliff Lee as one of the candidates. He further noted that there had been reports that the teams had actually discussed a Cliff Lee for Justin Upton trade of some sort:
Lee, meanwhile, is clearly available - and one rival executive said early Tuesday that he had received indications that the Phillies and Diamondbacks had discussed a deal involving Lee and Upton.
Those talks, however, are unconfirmed, and it is not known whether Lee can block a trade to the D-backs. His contract with the Phillies allows him to veto trades to 21 teams.
Money would be an even bigger obstacle to a deal.
The Phillies would need to include a ton of cash to make a Lee trade work financially for the D-backs. Lee is owed at least $87.5 million from 2013 to ’15. Upton is owed $38.5 million over the same years.
As for credit where it's due, Corey Seidman was pretty far in front of this one last night over at Phillies Nation.
Shane Victorino-to-Dodgers talk advancing?: Rosenthal also reports that the Dodgers and Phillies are discussing Shane Victorino, and with the Dodgers' recent acquisition of Brandon League, the Phillies original trade target -- Josh Lindblom -- may now be available.