According to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe, the Boston Red Sox have offered free-agent starting pitcher Jon Lester a six-year contract in the $110-$120 million range. This is somewhat of an interesting development considering that Boston wouldn’t go higher than a four-year deal worth between $70 and $80 million during the spring training. It’s not as much about the dollar figure as it is the length of the contract. Boston has historically been against giving out these sort of long-term contracts to pitchers on the wrong side of 30.
If you remember correctly, Boston dealt Lester to the Oakland Athletics for Yoenis Cespedes back in July. Shortly after that deal, the lefty indicated that he would be interested in returning to Boston if the possibility came up.
The interesting dynamic here is that Boston’s reported offer would put him at between $18.3 and $20 million per season, which is lower than the market might suggest moving forward.
The Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs appear to be two other teams with the best chance of signing the former World Series hero.
Lester went 16-11 with a 2.46 ERA and 1.10 WHIP between Boston and Oakland last season. He also struck out more than a batter per inning in 32 combined starts.