Getty Images Jon Lester told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that the Red Sox have not talked to him about negotiating a long-term contract extension as he enters the final guaranteed year of his current deal.
Of course, after paying him $11.625 million for this season the Red Sox will hold a $13 million team option on Lester for 2014, so there’s no real sense of urgency.
With that said, if the Red Sox are confident that Lester will bounce back from a career-worst season they could certainly save some money by trying to lock him up long term now. After four straight seasons with a sub-3.50 ERA his ERA ballooned to 4.82 ERA last year as Lester saw his strikeout rate plummet and allowed opponents to hit .273 off him.
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- crispybasil - Feb 7, 2013 at 2:22 PM
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It’ll be interesting to see if the reunion with John Farrell helps Lester regain any of his lost form. And if Lester will finally drop the attitude whenever a close call doesn’t go his way.
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- proudlycanadian - Feb 7, 2013 at 4:03 PM
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Go ahead. Just offer him $39 million over 3 years!
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- uyf1950 - Feb 8, 2013 at 9:58 AM
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I second that.
