For a team that claims they are a "longshot" to sign Cliff Lee, the Washington Nationals sure are getting plenty of chances to impress the guy. The team reportedly met with Lee's agent for a second time today, and rumors continued to swirl that they're preparing to offer him a big contract, according to Mark Zuckerman. However, it's not clear whether the team has not given Lee a former offer.
In a news conference with reporters, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said the team are still "longshots" to land Lee. Via Ben Goessling of MASN.
"We've had dialog with the representative (Darek Braunecker)," Rizzo said. "I still think we're a real long shot to acquire the player."
Rizzo elaborated a bit more on his statement, via Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
We're looking at a whole array of options in pitching and position players in filling our roles. It's hard to put a finger on, without telling you what we're doing. There's a whole bunch of things going on, and one domino is off the other, one interacts with the other. So there's a lot of moving parts.
This seems to back up the talk earlier that the Nationals' interest in Lee was overstated. As of right now, the Nationals are unwilling to offer Lee a seven-year contract, and despite the second meeting, that appears to still be the case.