One of the keys for the Boston Red Sox’ continued success going forward is going to be locking up key pitching pieces. As the ace of the staff, Jon Lester certainly qualifies as that, but Lester is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season and extension talks have not exactly gone according to plan.
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On WEEI radio, club president Larry Lucchino let it be known that the team still hopes to reach a contract agreement with Lester, whether that’s in-season or during the Hot Stove period. Lucchino says that the team would prefer to reach the decision before Lester hits the open market and also addressed the controversy surrounding the Red Sox initial offer before 2014 began.
The offer to the Red Sox’ 30-year old ace made news when it was reported to be well below what Lester was projected to receive in the off-season. At the time, the BoSox offered Lester a four-year, $70 million contract after Lester said he would be willing to take a discount to stay in Boston. Many expected a discounted offer from Boston, but nobody expected the number to be that low. Lester was projected to reach the $100 million mark in the open market, and a reasonable hometown discount would have been somewhere around $85-$90 million. Lucchino told WEEI that the offer was misconstrued as a fixated number as opposed to a starting point.
Lester certainly has earned whatever contract may come to him, as the two-time All-Star has been a stalwart mainstay in the Boston rotation. He has helped lead the Red Sox to two World Series championships in his time, including earning three wins in the post season of 2013. He is 6-4 with a 2.11 ERA in the postseason, and over his entire 9-year career with Boston, a 105-62 pitcher with a 3.74 ERA.