The Phillies offered Werth a three-year, $48 million contract. The deal included a fourth-year option that increased the total value to $60 million. The Phillies knew if Werth accepted they had no shot at Lee, but they did not consider it a risk. They knew Werth would not accept. Besides, they kept hearing more and more about the money the Yankees and Rangers were throwing at Lee. Ryan and Daniels flew to Little Rock one more time before the winter meetings.They offered a five-year, $100 million contract, according to ESPNDallas.com.
Shortly before the winter meetings on December 6 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Proefrock called Braunecker about two other clients, right-hander Dustin Moseley and left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith. Naturally, they also talked about Lee. Around that time the Phillies heard from one of their scouts that Lee told a business associate that if everything was equal he wanted to be in Philadelphia. Amaro and Proefrock got a jolt from the news. They started to dream big again. They needed to keep trying.
Scott Boras got Jayson Werth his money. He agreed to a seven-year, $126 million contract with the Washington Nationals on the eve of the winter meetings.
Werth was out of the picture. But was Lee in? Darek Braunecker lined up meetings with teams during the meetings at the Swan and Dolphin Resort at Walt Disney World. Braunecker texted Proefrock, letting him know he was available if the Phillies wanted to meet.
“We’d love to meet, but we’re sensing we’re out of the market and won’t be able to play in that range,” Proefrock replied.
Ruben Amaro Jr. wanted to jump in, but the years in the deal were an issue. Amaro spoke with Pat Gillick, who was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame that week. David Montgomery trusts Gillick more than anybody, which has been beneficial for Amaro. If he is getting close to something or needs help, Gillick can help push his idea over the top.
In many ways Gillick is Amaro’s hammer.
“I think they understand now that I’ve figured out their strategy,” Montgomery said months later. “But anybody in my position would be foolish not to reach out to Pat and see what he’s thinking.”
The Phillies purposely kept their distance from Braunecker at the winter meetings. Proefrock ran into him in the hotel lobby, said hello, shook his hand and kept moving.
“I didn’t even want to be seen anywhere near the guy,” he said.
Reporters started to mention the Phillies as the third team in the Lee sweepstakes, which Amaro vehemently denied.
“I lied,” he said.
He made no trips to the confessional for his sins.
“I don’t care,” he said. “If we were really going to make a serious run at this we couldn’t risk it getting out there because I don’t know what the Yankees would have done. It’s like asking—and this is a totally different scale and level of importance—but it’s like asking the chief military officer, are you going to bomb so-and-so today? Let’s just let everybody know.That’s not how you do business. Sometimes when you’re trying to come to some sort of conclusion on something you can’t be all that forthright. This isn’t necessarily honest or fair. I’d like to think I’m a fairly honest person, but at the same time. . . .”
If it meant telling the truth about their pursuit of Lee and losing him or lying to reporters and getting him, Amaro would lie every time.
Braunecker wanted to get his offers on the table during the winter meetings, return to Little Rock, and have the Lees make a decision shortly after that. The Phillies had not made an offer at that point because they had no reason to believe Lee would leave tens of millions of dollars on the table.
“I don’t believe in engaging just to disappoint,” Montgomery said. “If we have a legitimate chance, let’s do it. But we did not necessarily feel that we were an eventual destination.”
The Phillies heard about the money the Yankees and Rangers were offering and they were not going to outspend them. They also didn’t like the idea of making a multiyear commitment to a 32-year-old pitcher. But Gillick, who is a big believer in going no more than three years on a pitcher, knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a great way to position the Phillies to win multiple championships.
“We’ve got a window here for a period of time,” he told Montgomery. “Let’s take advantage of it before it closes. At some point it is going to close.”
The Phillies left the winter meetings without making an offer. But they left with hope.
Darek Braunecker returned to Little Rock from the winter meetings on Wednesday, December 8. He met with Cliff and Kristen Lee at a restaurant to discuss the offers from the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. The Lees said they could be happy with the Yankees or Rangers, who would fly to Little Rock one more time. But the more Cliff and Kristen talked with Braunecker the more they wished Philadelphia would engage.
“I just wish the Phillies would get involved,” Lee said a few times over dinner.
Cliff rhetorically asked Braunecker how much money his family needed. He said he wanted to go to the team he thought had the best chance to win multiple championships. He also was intrigued about joining what could be the best rotation in baseball and arguably one of the best of all time. Kristen mentioned how much they had been welcomed into the Phillies family and the relationship they had established with ownership.
Braunecker called Scott Proefrock after the meeting. He said he knew Philadelphia was the right place for the Lees and he was not concerned about getting them the most money. He simply wanted to put them in the right place. He also said he would like to look back and think he played a small role in helping put together one of the greatest rotations in baseball history.
All of that sounded fine, but the Yankees had offered Lee a seven-year, $148 million contract.
“We’re not going to be able to go seven years,” Proefrock said.
“What about five years?” Braunecker said.
“Would you even entertain five years?” Proefrock asked.
“We’ll entertain anything,” Braunecker responded. “You know where the market is at. If you were willing to go five with an option there might be something there.”
Proefrock had his doubts. The Phillies did not want Braunecker to use them as leverage for the Yankees and Rangers.
“We don’t need you guys,” Braunecker said.
“You have to give me your word this is genuine interest on your part,” Proefrock said.
“Scott, I wouldn’t be wasting your time or my time.You have to trust me.”
“I trust you. I just have to be able to tell that to David with complete sincerity.”
Proefrock hung up the phone and recapped the conversation and Lee’s desire to return in an email he composed to Montgomery:“To me this conversation represents an indication and validation of everything we do and stand for as an organization, the way we treat our players and our employees. The impact of bringing him back would be immeasurable, not only for our organization, but for the industry. We are in a Golden Era of Phillies baseball, one that we might not see again for years. We have a chance to win multiple championships and in bringing Cliff back we would be maximizing that opportunity to win and expanding our window to remain in the top echelon in the game for an extended period of time. His addition to Halladay, Hamels, would give us the best chance and the best rotation in baseball for at least the end of Halladay’s tenure, which would take us through 2014. For him in his current status as far and away the most coveted free agent on the market to walk away from the highest dollar and possibly the longest term to go where he really wanted to go would validate that thinking for years to come.”
The phone call from Braunecker to Proefrock changed everything for Montgomery. They were serious. The Phillies returned to Philadelphia from the winter meetings Thursday, December 9. Ruben Amaro Jr. and Proefrock met in Montgomery’s office on Friday. Pat Gillick was on speakerphone. The four talked for a long time about how this might affect the future composition of the ball club. Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Madson, Brad Lidge, and Raul Ibanez
were going to be free agents after the 2011 season. Cole Hamels was going to become a free agent after the 2012 season. They would have other holes to fill in the near future. If Lee returned, Montgomery wanted to make sure everybody had thought about the chain of events that would follow. Comfortable with what was said in his office, the four came up with a number to offer Lee.
Montgomery wrote the number on a Post-It note and slid it across his desk. Proefrock picked it up and handed it to Amaro.
They would offer five years for $115 million with a vesting option for a sixth year that would increase the value of the contract to $130 million. (The option vested if Lee finished in the top two in Cy Young voting in 2013 or 2014 or threw 225 innings in 2015; and did not finish the 2015 season on the disabled list.) It was a firm offer, which they could not exceed under any circumstances. Amaro and Proefrock were pumped, while Montgomery kept his cool. He believed Braunecker and Lee would see the offer, realize how far away they truly were from the Yankees and Rangers, and walk away.
Proefrock was driving home to Maryland when he got a call from Amaro.
“Card played,” Amaro said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Scott Proefrock felt pretty good about the Phillies’ chances to sign Cliff Lee that Saturday, so good he asked his nine-year-old son John if he thought the Phillies should sign him.
“Yeah, Dad,” John said.
“OK, I’m going to call Mr. Ruben and I’m going to tell him we should sign Cliff Lee just because you told me to.”
The inner circle had expanded to Amaro, Proefrock, Montgomery, Gillick, and Proefrock’s son John.
About 1,100 miles southwest of Citizens Bank Park, Lee sent Braunecker a text message before he took his family on a one-day duck-hunting trip:
“Kristen really wants to go to Philly.”
“What does Cliff want?” Braunecker replied.
“I’d love to be back in Philly.”
Braunecker and the Phillies exchanged ideas and details throughout the day and into the night with Braunecker sleeping in his office.
“Hey, buddy, make this happen,” Braunecker told Proefrock in a text. “We’ve worked too hard and it makes too much sense. Everybody wins. I can be creative.”
“I’m trying,” Proefrock replied.
“I know you are,” Braunecker said. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I’ve done all I can do to pacify all interested parties. Deferred dollars gets it done. Signing bonus. More buyout. You name it. Couldn’t be more flexible. We’re leaving so much money on the table. Can’t leave anymore. I know you understand.”
Amaro called Roy Halladay on Saturday night. Halladay had sacrificed free agency to join the Phillies in December 2009. He signed a three-year $60-million extension with an option for a fourth year. He left tens of millions on the table to come to Philadelphia. Amaro wanted to gauge Halladay’s temperature on Lee, who would get a much bigger deal than him.
Halladay responded enthusiastically. He told Amaro he couldn’t care less about who is paid more. He just wanted to win.
Amaro hung up the phone with Halladay and called Proefrock.
“I want to get this guy even more after the conversation I just had with Roy,” he said.
Amaro was with his two daughters at a Barnes & Noble in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, when Braunecker called him Sunday. He had Cliff and Kristen with him and put them on speakerphone. Kristen had spent the weekend making a list of plusses and minuses for Philadelphia, New York, and Texas. The plusses for Philadelphia included everything from Lee getting a chance to hit to the fans to the atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park to living in Center City.
It was the longest list of the three.
“I’ve tried everything I can,” Amaro told them. “I’m trying everything possible. But the reality is they’re only going to let me go so far. I’m sorry.”
“You broke my heart once, Ruben,” Kristen said. “Don’t break it again.”
The Yankees had offered Lee a seven-year, $148-million contract. The Rangers had offered Lee two options: a six-year, $120 million deal or a six-year, $108-million deal with $30 million deferred over 15 years once Lee turned 50. Both proposals from Texas could include a seventh-year option. The Phillies were in the ballpark with Texas, but fell far short of New York’s offer.
The Yankees had started to hear “drips” the Phillies were involved. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman got frustrated.
“I wanted to pull our offer off the table but ownership wouldn’t let me,” he said. “I had just come to a point where we addressed every issue and he still wouldn’t say yes.”
The Phillies and Braunecker continued to work—Braunecker from his office, Amaro from a Barnes & Noble, and Proefrock at a bowling alley. Proefrock had taken his son to a bowling event that morning. The alley was in a basement, so every few minutes he went upstairs to check his voice mail and text messages.
The Phillies were going well beyond their comfort level of offering pitchers no more than three-year contracts. And they were going to pay Lee more than $100 million on top of that, too. Amaro expressed that to Braunecker.
“Darek, my job is on the line,” Amaro told the agent. “You realize this could cost me my job.”
“I’m going to tell you this much,” Braunecker replied. “The best way to ensure job security is doing this fucking deal. You do this deal and go on to win two, three world championships over the next few years, they’re going to build a statue of you next to Rocky.”
Amaro sent Proefrock a text just after noon on Sunday that read: “Just talked to Cliff and Kristen and Dennis.”
Dennis had become the code name for Braunecker. David Montgomery makes a special point to know people’s names inside and outside the organization, no matter how high or low they are on the ladder. It is part of his charm, but one time he slipped and called the agent “Dennis Braunecker” and it stuck. Amaro and Proefrock continued to call the agent “Dennis” because they knew nobody else would know whom they were talking about.
Amaro sent Proefrock another text around 3:15 P.M. that read: “Keep your chin up. We’ve done all we can do.”
The parties had reached a stalemate.
It was over.
Proefrock emailed Braunecker at 3:20 P.M. to apologize. He told Braunecker how much he respected him and Lee for their conduct in the negotiations. He thanked them for sacrificing to “try to make the dream come to fruition.”
“I think we both feel this is the right place for Cliff, but we’ve pushed our limits as far as we can go,” he said.
Braunecker responded at 4:29 P.M. He said feelings “will forever linger as to what could/might have been.”
Montgomery expressed his appreciation to Amaro and Proefrock.
“You’re both doing your jobs by pushing for what you believe in and I should always be available to hear what you think,” he said. “Sorry we didn’t get to the finish line on this one. Again, thanks for the effort.”
Amaro hopped on a plane to meet Gillick in Arizona, where they planned to talk with Ben Francisco and John Mayberry Jr. about replacing Jayson Werth in right field. Proefrock sat dejected in Baltimore. Braunecker felt sick to his stomach in Arkansas.
Braunecker sent Proefrock a text message at 6:42 P.M., just hours after both parties declared the negotiations dead.
“Man, is this eating at you like it is me?”
“I want to cry,” Proefrock replied. “I’m withdrawing from my family. I don’t want to talk to anybody.”
“I know,” Braunecker said. “I’m starting to feel sorry for my family as I’ve been a total non-factor to them lately. I never thought I would be so anxious to forgo my own personal income for something like this, but when something is so right it makes you forget some of the other things. Man, it’s kind of heartbreaking as corny as it sounds.”
Proefrock felt another shot of adrenaline and started brainstorming ways to resuscitate the deal. He sent Braunecker an email at 10:54 P.M. that stated, �
��I don’t want to ride this to the end either, but how long do you have before you have to respond to other clubs?”
Braunecker said Lee is close to a decision, but could keep the two teams on hold a little longer.
Amaro’s flight landed in Arizona at 11:20 P.M. Proefrock told him that Braunecker reengaged. Amaro called Braunecker.
“You’ve got to give me something,” Amaro told the agent. “I need to take something to David.”
It would be fruitless to call Montgomery and say Braunecker reengaged, but was unwilling to make any concessions. Braunecker needed to move in the Phillies’ direction. At this point both parties wanted to make this deal happen so badly they worked together to craft Braunecker’s counterproposal to show Montgomery, with Proefrock typing it up at his kitchen counter.
“A lot of these things are percolating without my awareness and they’re presented to me when they’re further down the line,” Montgomery said. “It’s the nature of the beast.”
Braunecker sent the Phillies a long letter and proposal Monday morning speaking of the Lees’ willingness to make sacrifices to come to Philadelphia. He proposed a five-year, $122 million contract with a sixth-year option that increased the value to $137 million. The option automatically vested if Lee threw 200 innings in 2015 or 400 innings in 2014–15, which was much more attainable than the option the Phillies originally proposed. It was well received, but Braunecker needed an answer soon. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner had called him that morning, pressing for a response. He also had exchanges with the Rangers. He even made a counteroffer to Texas, asking for a seven-year deal. He called Proefrock and told him if the Rangers returned his call and accepted, Lee would honor the deal and sign with them.
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