Jon Lester retires after 16 seasons

Jon Lester is retiring from baseball after a 16-year career that included 200 wins and three World Series rings, he told Jesse Rogers of ESPN on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old left-hander was a free agent after splitting the 2021 season between the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals. He told Rogers his body could no longer handle the rigors of a full MLB campaign.

The five-time All-Star broke into the majors with the Boston Red Sox in 2006, beginning a storied nine-year stint that saw him win 110 regular-season games and two championships while posting a 3.64 ERA over 242 games.

Boston traded Lester and Jonny Gomes to the Oakland Athletics midway through the 2014 campaign for Yoenis Cespedes and a draft pick with Lester in the final year of his contract.

Lester signed a six-year deal with the Chicago Cubs the following winter and proved integral to the Cubs' pursuit of their drought-busting championship; he shared 2016 NLCS MVP honors with Javier Baez en route to the team's first World Series title in 108 years.

For all his regular-season success - a 200-117 record with a career 3.66 ERA and 3.78 FIP - Lester shined particularly brightly in postseason play. He made playoff appearances across nine seasons with three teams, authoring a 2.51 ERA and 3.50 FIP over 154 innings.