Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said he wants the team to ‘step up’ and re-acquire pitcher Jon Lester.
David Ortiz didn’t mince words when asked about the prospect of the Boston Red Sox bringing back the pitcher they traded in the middle of a lost season to the Oakland Athletics. He wants Jon Lester back in a Red Sox uniform, which means the team needs to get down to business and make it happen.
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“This is a guy who loves Boston,” Ortiz said per WEEI in Boston, “so if I’€™m the Red Sox I do whatever it takes to keep a guy like that because that’€™s a guy who brings everything he has every day to the field. Not only that but he cares about the city.
“He was devastated when he got traded, and I know that. I can personally tell you that. But this is a business, and I know he understands that. So now is the time for us to step up, man up, and try to make the guy happy.”
Business will be the first and foremost concern for Lester, who has a prime opportunity — possibly the best of his career — to secure a major long-term contract, which could prove difficult even for the deep-pocketed Red Sox, who are rumored to be competing with the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, and New York Yankees among others for Lester’s services.
Also muddying the waters are the recent contracts handed out by Boston to Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval. The Sox might not want to test the budget limits with another big contract.
Of course, if Ortiz has any say in the matter, money won’t be a factor in bringing back an old hand, especially if the team can quickly rebound from a disastrous 2014 season and contend once again in 2015.
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