When you have a player like Cliff Lee on the market, only two kinds of teams will make a real run to get him: those in contention and those willing to overpay. Teams rebuilding will rarely offer anything beyond a phone call to an agent before bowing out, which is why you won’t see Lee wind up in a city like Oakland or Toronto, who both have excellent young pitching staffs, but neither think they are only one or two moves away from seriously contending.

Teams willing to overpay often will do so to lure a big name to a city that doesn’t stand a chance of winning the World Series. It’s as if they’re saying, “We can’t promise you’ll win a ring, but we’ll pay you enough to buy one of your own afterwards.” These teams include the Mets, Cubs and Tigers, who don’t boast much talent, but have owners willing to spend with the big boys, hoping to bring in fans with a big name player.

Teams in contention don’t need to overpay as often a player is willing to take less money in the hopes that his new team will make a playoff run. The Padres, Rangers and even the Reds were all low-spenders who managed to accomplish big things last season, and it will entice other players to take a look at what’s going on in these cities, possibly even drawing a few of them into the mix.

Then there are teams who can both pay and promise a chance for a World Series title. These teams have it all: talented players, financial viability, and a fanbase to support the team. You need to look at the Yankees, but the Red Sox and the Phillies are also examples of how to build a winner. Winning breeds money, and money breeds winning. A team can start with one and it will find the other, but in order to maintain success, it has to commit to both.