Former Phillies ace Cliff Lee's off-season has been tumultuous from getting unexpectedly traded away to eventually coming to terms with the move to going under the knife.
Lee’s first spring training with the Seattle Mariners is off to a slow start already.
The left-hander is recovering from minor foot surgery and should be limited when pitchers and catchers report to Seattle's camp in Arizona this month.
“We decided Lee should have the surgery as soon as possible, rather than try to pitch with the discomfort during the year,” general manager Jack Zduriencik said Monday. “To get it out of the way and have it behind us is important.”
Seattle's biggest acquisition during its splashy winter had surgery Friday in his native Arkansas to remove a bone spur that broke loose and was floating in his left foot.
Lee's foot is not in a cast, and he is continuing his upper-body exercise program. The 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner will “gradually return to all normal baseball activities” over the next two to three weeks, the M’s said.
All this could come as news to Phillies fans. Did the team know about the problem with Lee’s foot before trading the 31-year-old southpaw away?
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It wasn’t exactly clear if this was something Lee dealt with while in Philly. In any case, he should still be ready in plenty of time for Opening Day, according to Seattle so this just seems like a minor setback for now.
Essentially having a completely healthy Roy Halladay instead of a recovering-from-surgery Lee at the top of the rotation should make Phils fans feel good. And at worse, lessen the blow of loosing Lee.
Phillies' pitchers and catchers start practice on Feb. 18 in Clearwater, Fla.
