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Starting pitcher Cliff Lee felt pain in his pitching elbow and is now bracing for the possibility that he will need surgery that would likely end his season and possibly his career according to CSNPhilly.com.
If Lee does need surgery, it is a disaster for the Phillies. Not only would the Phillies lose one of their best players, they also lose their best hope for making a trade that would return some decent prospects to rebuild around.
According to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, the Phillies had recently told at least one other team that they would look to trade Lee if he was healthy, even before the season started. Now, even if Lee doesn't need surgery teams will almost certainly be scared off this development
With Lee and teammate Ryan Howard, the Phillies now have a potential 100-loss team with two $25 million players nobody wants. That's not a good start to the season and it is only March.