Cliff Lee

Cliff Lee lit a fire under baseball’s annual midseason trade market this week not with a deal but by doing what he’s been doing all season: pitching well.

It’s just that this time the Seattle Mariners pitcher did it in New York with a curious news media contingent seeking clues from Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik.There is a lot of speculation,” Zduriencik said Tuesday before Lee pitched his third consecutive complete game to beat the New York Yankees and increase his stock before the July 31 trade deadline.

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Lee, who is 7-3 with a 2.45 ERA and can be a free agent after the season, won’t be specific about a possible destination.

“I have preferences,” Lee said after Tuesday’s game. “But I’m not going to tell you who I want to play for if I had a choice — and I don’t.”

A market for Lee could extend far beyond the Yankees or New York Mets if and when the Mariners, who entered Wednesday 32-44 and last in the American League West, decide to trade him, as the Cleveland Indians did last season. Lee went to the Philadelphia Phillies and won seven games over the final two months, then was 4-0 in the postseason. Seattle traded for him in the offseason.

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