PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Philadelphia Phillies exercised their $8 million club option on left-hander Cliff Lee on Friday, as the National League champions were quickly back to work just two days after losing the World Series.

The Phillies made the announcement on their website (http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com) just as the New York Yankees were celebrating their 27th World Series with a parade up Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes.

Lee, acquired by Philadelphia in a late season trade with the Cleveland Indians, posted a 7-4 record with a 3.39 ERA in 12 regular-season starts for the Phillies.

But the 31-year-old lefty saved some of his best performances for the playoffs where he posted a record of 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five starts, helping the Phillies to the World Series where they lost to the Yankees in six games.

(Writing by Steve Keating in Toronto; editing by Ken Ferris)