Cubs Believe Jon Lester Is Heading To Red Sox

By Evan Massey | Nov 18, 2014

Sep 30, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jon Lester (31) throws a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning of the 2014 American League Wild Card playoff baseball game at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

The Chicago Cubs believe at this point in time that Jon Lester will return to the Boston Red Sox in MLB free agency.

Theo Epstein has made it very clear that he wants to acquire a legitimate ace starting pitcher this offseason, and the name that the Chicago Cubs have been most connected to is Jon Lester. Lester put up great numbers between the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox last season, and is going to command a very large deal this offseason. He was rumored to be likely to sign with the Cubs, but that appears to have changed.

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According to a report from baseball analysts Peter Gammons, the Cubs are currently operating with the belief that Lester will end up returning to the Red Sox when everything is said and done.

Needless to say, that would be huge for the Red Sox and would make them out to be bandits in the trade that went down with Oakland at the trading deadline. They are now sitting pretty with Yoenis Cespedes, and signing Lester would give them their ace starter back. It would be a perfect deal all the way around for Boston, and would make them look like geniuses.

Lester finished last season with a 16-11 record with the Red Sox and Athletics, and compiled a 2.46 ERA to go along with 220 strikeouts. Those numbers are impressive, and he still has plenty of good baseball left in him at 30 years of age. Any team that signs him is going to have to give up a fairly lucrative deal, but he will make them very happy about every penny that they spent on him.

It will be very intriguing to see if the Cubs can figure out a way to get back into first place for Lester. Epstein has very close ties with him from back in their Boston days, and he is without a doubt going to try and convince Lester to sign in Chicago.

Both the Red Sox and Cubs are of interest to Lester, but it will come down to which team he views as giving him the best chance to compete for another World Series win. The Cubs have a lot of young talent and have plenty of money to spend, but the Red Sox have had the much better recent history. Lester hasn’t made up his mind yet, but the Cubs definitely feel like he is leaning towards a return to Boston.

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