Derrek Lee rejected a trade to the Angels

Earlier this afternoon Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com reported that Derrek Lee would block any potential move by exercising the no-trade clause in his contract and now MLB.com has further details that he actually did reject a trade to the Angels. Asked to comment on the report, Lee said: “There may be a time when I’m ready to talk about it, but not now.” Lee has posted an OPS above .800 in 10 straight seasons, but the impending free agent in the final season of a five-year, $65 million deal is currently hitting just .248/.333/.387 in 97 games for a .720 OPS. He’s hit much better recently, going 26-for-82 (.317) with nine extra-base hits in the past 19 games. Lee will no doubt be criticized for not accepting a trade to a “contender” but it’s worth noting that the Angels are nearly as far out of a playoff spot (8.5 games) as the Cubs (9.5 games) right now.