LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Cliff Lee free-agent chase will continue.

But not here.

Lee's agent, Darek Braunecker, just left the Winter Meetings. Braunecker told CBSSports.com that he may or may not return, but that it's now very unlikely that Lee will sign a new contract before the Winter Meetings end Thursday.

Braunecker wouldn't say where he was heading.

"We're going somewhere," he said with a smile.

Regardless of how long the Lee drama drags on, the basics of the situation don't seem to have changed much. The Yankees are still considered the strong favorite to sign him, and SI.com's Jon Heyman reported today that they're prepared to offer Lee a six-year deal for between $23 and 25 million a year.

The Rangers are the second pick, but sources said that they are adamantly opposed to going past five years on a pitcher who would be 37 years old at the end of that five-year deal.

The Angels have also talked to Lee, but sources said that outfielder Carl Crawford remains their top priority.

The Nationals showed some interest in Lee early, but sources said they have bowed out of the negotiations.

Braunecker wouldn't discuss any individual teams, but he said that the field has been narrowed somewhat in the last day.

It's believed that if the Rangers don't get Lee, they'll turn their attention to trying to trade for Zack Greinke, with a trade for Matt Garza also a possible fallback position. The Rangers met with Crawford's agent during the Winter Meetings, but club officials have said that getting a top starting pitcher would be their first preference.