Jon Lester is sought after by a number of teams on the MLB free agent market. You can add the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals to the mix of his rumored potential suitors.
Could any team besides the Chicago Cubs or Boston Red Sox end up signing ace starting pitcher Jon Lester?
More from Atlanta Braves
- Braves get dose of bad news on Max Fried as ace nears return
- Braves Rumors: 3 trade targets Vaughn Grissom can help Atlanta acquire
- Braves Rumors: Cubs trade, Vaughn Grissom targeted, Duvall’s conflict of interest
- Shohei Ohtani Rumors: The best trade package from every NL East team
- MLB Rumors: Potential Braves reunion, Lance Lynn no-trade clause and Orioles deadline intentions
Between the rumors that link Lester to his former team in Boston and his familiarity with Theo Epstein in Chicago, it would seem like an upset if Lester did not sign in one of those two huge markets.
We now know of at least two teams that are in the mix, and it just so happens that they made a trade with another this week. The Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals are both reportedly in pursuit of Lester.
The Braves have a meeting with Lester this week:
And now tonight we hear that the Cardinals are in the mix:
This would be a logical, albeit aggressive, next move for the Cardinals. They just traded starting pitcher Shelby Miller, and so they could plug his spot in the rotation with a significant upgrade and a second ace to go with Adam Wainwright. The fit is less obvious for the Braves, who in turn just traded for Miller and are significantly strapped for cash thanks to bad contracts still on the books.
Lester went 16-11 last season while splitting his time between the Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics. He posted a 2.46 ERA with 9.00 K/9 mark over the course of 219.2 innings. The days of fried chicken and controversy are forgotten at this point, and Lester is in for a big payday this off-season.
Presumably we will not see Lester go anywhere until Max Scherzer signs and sets the market for free agent starting pitchers. Spoiler: a bunch of guys are going to make over $100 million in their deal, and Lester will be one of them.
More from FanSided
- NFL rumors: Aaron Rodgers sets Jets up for Super Bowl run with new contract
- MLB Trade Grades: Dodgers land Amed Rosario from Guardians
- Colorado gives Pac-12 a possible death knell with move to Big 12
- NFL rumors: Dalvin Cook suitor maintaining very ‘real’ interest
- Braves get dose of bad news on Max Fried as ace nears return