Jon Lester: Would have been 'very difficult' to turn down 5-year, $120M offer from Red Sox in spring
Jon Lester is not done taking shots at his former team, the Boston Red Sox.
On WEEI just now, Jon Lester said it would have been “very difficult” to turn down 5/$120 in spring training. So there you go.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) December 19, 2014
Lester reportedly turned down a six-year, $135-million offer from the Red Sox (see stack below) in order to join the Chicago Cubs for $20 million more. Boston apparently lowballed Lester in the spring prior to him entering the final year of his contract with a four-year, $70-million offer.
Lester, of course, was then dealt to the Oakland Athletics prior to the non-waiver trade deadline as part of a deal that brought slugger Yoenis Cespedes to Boston. Cespedes was then flipped in another deal to Detroit in order to bring right-hander Rick Porcello in to bolster a relatively weak pitching staff at the time.
Only time will tell if the decision to let Lester, who helped Boston to a pair of World Series titles, walk will haunt the Red Sox, but fans will be furious knowing general manager Ben Cherington could have had him signed to a long-term deal at a relative discount in retrospect.