The Dodgers Claimed Cliff Lee

Quick, somebody get flight tracker going!

Cliff lee did NOT clear waivers

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) August 3, 2012

As Jamey wrote this morning, there are three options here:

- Work out a trade with that other team – within 48½ business-day hours of the closing of the waiver period (so by 1:30 ET on the day in question).  If no trade is completed, the window shuts and neither the claiming team nor any other may trade for the player during the season.

- Stick the other team with the player by simply conveying the player’s contract – which the other team doesn’t have the right to decline.  Randy Myers (1998, Blue Jays to Padres) and Alex Rios (2009, Blue Jays to White Sox) are two examples of this very rare result.

- Revoke waivers and pull the player back (a second run through revocable waivers is not permitted – waivers would be irrevocable in that case).  This is what happens more than 90 percent of the time, and before the Twitter age we almost never heard about it.

So, if it's Texas that placed a claim, well, everyone can freak out I guess.

If it's not Texas that placed a claim, they're not getting him yet during the 2012 season (which would likely be the case even if Texas DID place a claim).

And, if the Phillies were so inclined, and if their financial situation is dire enough, they could dump Lee and his entire contract on the claiming team.

The overwhelming likelihood, though, is still that Lee goes nowhere.

Update: Per T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers did not claim Cliff Lee. There are also unconfirmed reports that the Phillies pulled Lee back off waivers, although none of the mainstream guys have yet confirmed that fact.

Update: Jon Paul Morosi says it's the Dodgers. There is some thought that they are the one and only team in baseball with the kind of payroll situation and revenue streams that would be required to take on the Lee obligation, but it still seems very unlikely that Lee is moved anywhere.

And with that, the Cliff Lee-to-Texas speculation ends ... for now.