What I'm concerned about is filling this roster with, durable, productive, solid major league players. Locking him down (assuming his demands are reasonable) is a no brainer. We have holes all over this team. Next year we have questionmarks @ 6 out of the 9 offensive positions (5 ?'s at the least). Even if Derek settles (which I think he will to around 900OPS) he would still be well worth paying decent money for. His glove, durability, and bat are worth taking the risk that he somehow takes a nosedive in future years. It would be a huge mistake if we let Lee go and hope some prespect can fill his shoes. Sure the prospect may be cheaper in terms of his cost to production, but I'd be pretty surprised if his production, defense, and duribility ever reaches Lee's career norms. Trying to save money is great, but lets face it, we aren't the Devil Rays. We shouldn't let our best players go because we might have to pay for them. I absolutely understand the need for caution. I still think as long as Derek's demands aren't completely unreasonable we should do everythign we can to lock him down.