Carlos Lee links

Today is the first day of the rest of our lives...

Marlins GM Michael Hill first made contact with Jeff Luhnow in May:
"We watched the club play and offense was a concern. We started to research different possibilities, different bats that might be available. … We felt like it was a good time to infuse a veteran, professional, experienced bat into the lineup."

Jeff Luhnow:
"Carlos Lee will help the Marlins. The Marlins are very invested in trying to win quickly and Lee can fit into that equation, and I think that's why they were interested in him. We have a different outlook. We're looking towards the future and we were able to get two players we believe will be a part of our future, and that was too good to pass up."
(Click the McTaggart link to read more about why the L.A. trade didn't happen.)

Jerome Solomon:
Take my word for it, rookie owner Jim Crane was more upset at having to take on Lee’s contract when he bought the team than he was about being bullied by Major League Baseball to move to the American League. At least MLB paid him $50 million to take the abuse. Lee was an $18.5 million albatross on the books.

Kevin Goldstein takes a quick look at Dominguez/Rasmussen at Baseball Prospectus.

Keith Law tweeted (in response to a question) that Dominguez and Rasmussen were a "defensive replacement and reliever."

Just in case you had wondered what the trade means for the Cubs (?)...