At 8 a.m., a deal was “on the verge.” Two hours later, it was “imminent.”
At 2:45, there were “big concerns” on Seattle’s end, and by the end of the workday, the trade that would have made Cliff Lee a Yankee was dead.

Under the swap’s final proposed incarnation, New York would have sent Jesus Montero, Zach McAllister and David Adams to Seattle for the ace left-hander.

It also would have added a world of clarity to Austin Romine’s path to the Bronx.

Still, to the laid-back Thunder backstop mere hours away from a trip home for the XM Futures Game, yesterday’s proceedings were water under the bridge.

“That’s not something I worry about, especially when it really didn’t involve me,” Romine said in front of the visitors’ clubhouse before yesterday’s game with the Bowie Baysox. “It was interesting (and) exciting at the same time. I try not to think about that, but you can’t not when it’s all over TV.”

As for his status with the organization, the 21-year-old Romine realizes that choosing to keep him here is a tremendous reaffirmation of the big things the Yankees believe he will produce.

“It shows that they’ve got a lot of respect for me,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of confidence in me, I think would be a better word. Again, I don’t think it means much. I’m trying to get (to the big leagues) as fast as I can.”

Thunder skipper Tony Franklin agreed with Romine’s view, saying that perhaps Seattle didn’t give the Yankees much of a choice.

“You look at it from various angles and you make up your own mind. Maybe it was we’re putting Montero in the deal because we really want Lee,” Franklin said. “We’d hate to lose you, but we really want Lee.”

Like Romine, Franklin played off the trade, and its ultimate failure, as business as usual.

“It’s speculation. I don’t know why they backed out. They’ve got their reasons, and I don’t know why the trade consummated. Maybe they didn’t get what we wanted, and maybe they didn’t get what they wanted. That’s generally why they’d call a deal off.”

The other member of the Thunder involved in the proposed deal, second baseman David Adams, ended up being the reason the Mariners backed out at the very end. His severely sprained ankle, they said, was a concern.

So, if the injury was serious enough to warrant voiding a deal that would have sent Seattle arguably the best hitting prospect in all of baseball, what does it say about his timetable for a return to action?

“I don’t know what the medical team is thinking right now,” manager Tony Franklin said. “They’re going to make the assessment of when David’s ready to come back. I’m not the guy who’s going to make that assessment.”

BOWIE, Md. – Regardless of what uniform Cliff Lee is wearing tonight, yesterday’s proceedings made one thing abundantly clear: Austin Romine is the Yankees’ catcher of the future.

By agreeing to send Jesus Montero, the best bat in the system and perhaps the entirety of minor league baseball, to Seattle for Lee, they not so subtly inferred which man they believe will be the successor to Jorge Posada.

The pair has long been regarded as the twin peaks in a system rich with catching talent, but the ultimate question was about which would win out: Montero’s supremely gifted bat, or Romine’s all-around excellence.

Now, after about eight hours of deliberation, it appears we know the answer.

The deal, which would have sent Montero, Thunder second baseman David Adams and former Trenton ace Zach McAllister across the country, broke down because of questions Seattle had regarding Adams’ ankle.

That last part is surprising, given that Adams has been hurt for nearly two months. Yes, he did have a set back recently, but hasn’t had surgery. It’s a fully recoverable injury, and it’s not as if he would have started immediately with the Mariners.

The more likely scenario is that the Rangers simply offered Seattle a superior package of prospects, which includes slugger Justin Smoak, stud pitcher Blake Beavan, second baseman Matt Lawson and reliever Josh Lueke.

Beavan was with Triple-A, while Lueke and Lawson were a part of the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders.

The deal also tips the Yankees’ hand a little bit as far as the rest of the month leading up to the non-waiver trading deadline is concerned. By even making the proposal in the first place, it signals to the rest of the league that they believe their rotation, even with three All-Stars, is incomplete.

This belief may have been spurred by the up-and-down first halves from the rotation’s non All-Stars – Javier Vazquez and A.J. Burnett – or the upcoming innings count placed on Phil Hughes.

No matter the cause, it appears that the Yankees believe they need pitching, and Montero’s the man they’re willing to part with to acquire it.

Joel Sherman made a fantastic get this morning, and is reporting that the Yankees are on the verge of acquiring left-handed ace Cliff Lee from the Mariners for a package that includes Jesus Montero, Thunder second baseman David Adams and more as yet unnamed prospects from a deep Yankees system.

With Triple-A this season, Montero's struggles are being made very public. Still he's turned it on quite a bit of late, and is sporting a .253/.329/.737 line with six homers and 35 RBIs. Still, he's just 21 and has loads of potential. Plus, with Austin Romine, J.R. Murphy, Gary Sanchez and Kyle Higashioka all still in the system, the Yankees have a major catching surplus.

David Adams, who has been on the disabled list since May with a sprained ankle, is also rumored to be part of the deal. As far as the Thunder's season goes, the Yankees could easily (and deservingly) promote Corban Joseph to Trenton.