Cliff Lee was so close to being a member of the Yankees.

But following a deal that fell apart, Lee is now a part of the Texas Rangers and not the Yankees.

In a deal that would have sent Jesus Montero, David Adams, and another prospect to Seattle for Lee, it got turned down because of the health questions surrounding Adams. The result was that the Yankees lost out on the most prized pitcher of the summer.

Lost out, for now anyways.

I am going to make a bold prediction, and it’s one that I, like many others, thought all along. But I feel more confident making this prediction based off everything from yesterday and what I’ve read from this morning.

Cliff Lee will be a member of the Yankees in 2011, and the Yankees can then thank the Texas Rangers for making that trade yesterday.

The Yankees didn’t have to trade off any of their top prospects for Lee. Instead, they got to keep them. That’s a major plus. Five or six years ago, the deal would have been made, but not now.

During the day and the time before the Lee-to-the-Yankees deal almost got pulled off, Lee was making inquiries to his long-time friend CC Sabathia about how New York is. Even Lee’s wife Kristen was asking Sabathia’s wife Amber about places to live in the area.

That can only tell you that Lee was more than willing to come to New York and pitch for the Yankees.

What’s going to happen in the winter of 2010-2011 when Lee is a free agent and everyone has free reign to sign him?

You know the Rangers won’t be able to afford to re-sign him considering they have so many financial issues.

With Javier Vazquez probably not coming back and Andy Pettitte going year to year and his retirement looming, the Yankees will have a need for starting pitching.

After yesterday, we all know now the Yankees want Lee. They will go after him again when the 2010 season ends. Who is going to stop them in the winter then?

Nobody. If the Yankees really want a free agent, they go and get them, and Sabathia and his $161 million dollar contract can attest to that.

Lee will probably look to get ace-like money. The Yankees have it, can afford it and will hand it out to him because they value starting pitching and the need of it, especially in a division like the A.L. East.

Would the Yankees have been better with Lee for the second half? Absolutely. But did they really need Lee? Not really. Their starting pitching rotation is by far one of the best in baseball with three all-stars in it already (Sabathia, Pettitte and Phil Hughes.)

With the Yankees on pace to make the play-offs, they could easily end up facing Lee and the Texas Rangers. This, of course, would be nothing new to them. The Yankees survived it and beat the Phillies despite Lee’s best efforts against them.

We don’t know what the rest of 2010 will bring, but for right now, it won’t involve Lee in pinstripes, and that’s OK for now.

Now come 2011, that’s a whole different story. Eventually Lee is going to want to win a championship and he knows where the best place to win that is. All he has to do is call his good buddy CC and ask him about it.

Not like Lee would need that much convincing anyway. He was already all set to come to New York this summer.

Now all he has to do is wait a few months where nobody, whether it be injured prospects, skeptical GM’s or anything else, will stand in his way to come to New York.

Cliff Lee will be wearing pinstripes come 2011, mark it down now.

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