Phillies get Cy Young winner Lee from Indians

PHILADELPHIA — Cliff Lee is more than just a consolation prize.

The Philadelphia Phillies didn’t get Roy Halladay, instead acquiring the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner from Cleveland on Wednesday.

Looking to bolster their so-so rotation, the NL East leaders sent four minor-league prospects to the Indians for Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco. The Phillies strongly pursued Halladay, but quickly struck a deal to land Lee once they deemed Toronto’s asking price for the six-time All-Star was too high.

“One of our goals was to acquire a top-of-the-rotation guy, somebody who we felt was going to make a difference. And we think that Cliff can certainly do that,” general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said.

The left-handed Lee is 7-9 with a 3.14 ERA in 22 starts this season after going 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA in 2008. The Indians dealt CC Sabathia, then the reigning Cy Young winner and in the final year of his contract, to the Milwaukee Brewers last summer.

“I’m going to miss all these guys here, but it’s an opportunity for me to help a team that’s in first place,” Lee said after the Indians lost to the Los Angeles Angels 9-3 in Anaheim, Calif. “They’re the defending world champions. So as far as that goes, I’m excited.”

The Phillies sent Triple-A pitcher Carlos Carrasco, infielder Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson along with Single-A pitcher Jason Knapp to Cleveland.

“The value was compelling,” Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said. “It had to be compelling.”

Lee turns 31 next month and his contract includes a $9 million club option for next season.

Amaro acquired Lee without giving up top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek, rookie left-hander J.A. Happ, who is 7-2, or highly touted minor league outfielders Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown.

“Watching him go through last year and this year, it’s not like it’s far off of Halladay at all,” Phillies closer Brad Lidge said of Lee. “He’s that kind of pitcher. And not having to give up Happ to get him, that’s pretty impressive.”

Lee gives the Phillies another top starter to join Cole Hamels. The MVP of the World Series and NLCS last fall has been inconsistent this season — Hamels was 7-5 with a 4.42 ERA, though he pitched well in a victory at Arizona on Tuesday.

The Phillies have a comfortable lead in the division — six games ahead of second-place Florida. They’ve sought pitching help since No. 2 starter Brett Myers had hip surgery in June. Jamie Moyer leads the staff with 10 wins, but he is 46 and has a 5.32 ERA.

The addition of Lee means Philadelphia has to drop someone — possibly Rodrigo Lopez — from its starting rotation. Lopez, though, is 3-0 with a 3.09 ERA in four starts. The Phillies also have Pedro Martinez rehabbing in the minors. The three-time Cy Young Award winner signed a $1 million, one-year contract during the All-Star break.

“I’d rather have a surplus than have needs,” Amaro said. “It’ll work itself out.”

Manager Charlie Manuel said he’ll probably make a decision about the rotation on the team’s plane ride to San Francisco on Wednesday night.

Francisco, batting .250 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs, upgrades Philadelphia’s bench, which has lacked a solid right-handed hitter.

The Indians have been a disappointment this season and their decision to deal Lee for prospects is another blow for Cleveland fans, who have seen stars such as Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome and Sabathia leave via free agency or trade.

“We’ve been through this before with much less talent in our cabinet,” Shapiro said. “If we hadn’t made tough decisions and trades before like this in the past, we wouldn’t have had guys like Cliff.”

Lee came to Cleveland, along with center fielder Grady Sizemore, from the Montreal Expos in a 2002 deal for Bartolo Colon.

The club had hoped to sign Lee to an extension but talks broke off during spring training. A succession of injuries and dismal relief pitching dropped the Indians out of contention and forced Shapiro to begin rebuilding.

The Indians traded infielder/outfielder Mark DeRosa to St. Louis last month, sent reliever Rafael Betancourt to Colorado last week and dealt first baseman Ryan Garko to San Francisco on Monday.

AP Sports Writers Tom Withers in Cleveland, Gregg Bell in Seattle and Andrew Bagnato in Phoenix contributed to this report.