Despite the report yesterday that four teams had extended contracts in the $150M range to Jon Lester, sources in the industry believe that the bidding has continued even further and that Lester is deciding between joining the Red Sox or the Cubs.
Lester is expected to make his decision very soon, quite possibly in the next 24 hours, and it’s encouraging to see the Red Sox still firmly in the race.
However, the Red Sox should certainly be cautious of overpaying for Lester. One team had reportedly given Lester a contract in the 7 year/$175M range and, while Lester appears to value other factors more than money, the Red Sox would be wise to walk away from negotiations if his expected price rises to those heights.
Lester is still the Red Sox’ best option, particularly with Jeff Samardzija headed to the White Sox, but there are still plenty of backup options on the trade market and even in free agency if the Red Sox feel that Lester will be too expensive. That said, it only applies if the Red Sox are priced out of the Lester negotiations and with the current trends in free agent contracts, $25M a year for a pitcher of Lester’s caliber is not a huge overpay by any means.
The Red Sox are in dire need of pitching and Lester would immediately put them in contention for another World Series crown. This race appears to be coming down to the wire, but we should know Lester’s choice by this time tomorrow.