Jon Lester To Return To Boston Red Sox on Six-Year Deal?

MLB Free agent left-hander Jon Lester was traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Oakland Athletics last July, but rumors haven’t gone away that he’d like to re-sign with Boston this winter.

The Oakland Athletics acquired Jon Lester from the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline last season, and rumors have circulated ever since that Lester, now a free agent, would consider a return to the Red Sox this winter.

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Lester was nothing short of outstanding last season (2.46 ERA), but it’s a huge leap of faith to sign any pitcher to a five-year deal, although the Red Sox’s familiarity with Lester could help make sense of a potential six-year offer. According to Gordon Edes, the rumors that Jon Lester will return to Boston aren’t new, but they’re also no going anywhere.

I know how hard this is to believe but a well-placed source predicted that Red Sox will re-sign Lester, and may go up to 6 yrs to do so
— Gordon Edes (@GordonEdes) November 11, 2014

Sound pretty familiar? That’s because Boston general manager Ben Cherington said similar things a few days ago (and at the end of October) and they’ve been linked back to Lester despite the length of the contract.

Given Boston’s history with Lester and the money they have to spend, the rumors will continue to persist until Lester signs somewhere.

Boston is certainly a team to keep an eye on in the Lester sweepstakes, but believing a return to the Red Sox as a done deal is presumptuous at best, and don’t discredit a team such as the New York Yankees getting involved (even if they say they don’t want to bid).

MLB Free agent left-hander Jon Lester was traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Oakland Athletics last July, but rumors haven’t gone away that he’d like to re-sign with Boston this winter.

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