Report: Red Sox Make Offer To Jon Lester, Who's Expected To Take His Time
(CBS) Free agent left-hander Jon Lester visited the Cubs on Tuesday, not long after the Red Sox made an offer to him earlier this week, ESPNBoston.com reported.
Terms of Boston's offer to Lester weren't disclosed, and with a number of suitors, he's expected to take his time in making a decision. Lester has now met with Boston and Chicago, and he's schedule to meet with Atlanta on Thursday. St. Louis and Toronto are rumored to be in the mix as well.
The Red Sox drafted Lester, and he spent his first 8 1/2 seasons with them before a deadline deal sent him to the Athletics this past season.
The 30-year-old Lester is a bona fide No. 1 starter, which the Cubs are looking for with a roster and farm system replete with promising young hitters but not an abundance of arms. Lester has 16-11 with a 2.46 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 2014. Lester has made at least 31 starts in seven consecutive seasons, so he's proved to be durable and reliable.
Lester is familiar with Cubs executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer from their days together in Boston. They teamed up to win a World Series in 2007, and Lester won another one in 2013 after Epstein and Hoyer had left for Chicago.
One unknown factor in the Lester sweepstakes, as several prominent baseball writers have noted, is whether the Yankees get involved in the bidding. Money is often no object of worry for New York, so its potential involvement would likely drive Lester's price up, to the chagrin of the suitors currently involved. It would make good sense for Lester to be patient and see if the Yankees get involved.
Lester is expected to command an annual price tag between $20 million and $25 million.