Left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee of the Texas Rangers has about two month before he can test the world of free agency, and when he does he should expect many teams knocking on his door with dump trucks full of cash. Lee is wrapping up a $9 million club option for 2010, and could command a contract similar to the one C.C. Sabathia signed with the New York Yankees – 7-years for $161 million.

Richard Durrett of ESPN recently spoke with Texas Rangers’ general manager Jon Daniels about their plans to re-sign Lee after the season. This is what he said:

We’re not going down that path yet and Cliff has other things to worry about and we don’t want it to be a distraction. But in bankruptcy, we had no chance. This improves that and I can’t really tell you how much until the season is behind us and we sit down and talk about it. I know Chuck and Nolan are very committed to putting a winner on the field and keeping our best players.

The Rangers are clearly focused on making their first playoff appearance in ten years, so talks about future seasons will have to wait until after this season. They were aggressive in July in their acquisitions of infielder Cristian Guzman, infielder Jorge Cantu and Lee. Now with new ownership in place, the fans of the Rangers can hopefully look forward to successful seasons and more playoff appearances beyond this year.

Lee, 31, is 9-5 with a 2.51 ERA for both the Rangers and Seattle Mariners this year.