Written by Johnny Maffei
On the first day of Christmas my GM gave to me: a Jon Lester return to Boston.
Boston Red Sox owner John Henry admits he should have resigned Lester when he was a free agent after the 2014 season.
John Henry: 'I thought we blew the Jon Lester signing in spring training (of '14)"
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) February 18, 2019
Lester was shipped from Boston to the Oakland Athletics prior to the 2014 MLB trade deadline for OF Yoenis Cespedes. The Red Sox were "sellers" that season, but were hoping to make a move on Lester come winter. In the end, they didn't get the hometown discount they were hoping for. The Chicago Cubs gave him a 6yr/$155M deal and the Red Sox were reportedly around $20M under that.
Lester has been solid in the regular season since he's been in the Windy City. From 2015-19 he had a 3.57 ERA with 898K on almost 190IP each season. Former Cubs GM Theo Epstein certainly got a win over his old team with just that alone.
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| Jon Lester with fmr Chicago Cubs & Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein at Lester's Cubs introductory press conference (Credit: David Banks/Getty Images) |
However, what Red Sox Nation cares about is what happened in October. Lester, amongst other postseason success for the Cubs, turned in a 2016 NLCS MVP on his way to his 3rd World Series ring while Boston was perhaps just a starting pitcher away from a ring in both '16 and '17.
Sox fans want to contend again. The last two seasons aren't what Boston settles for. Is Lester going to be in the top half of the rotation? No. But he is going to be one of the better back half of the rotation starters in the league and he knows how to perform in the postseason.
Bring him home, Chaim Bloom!
Stay tuned for the Second Day of Christmas, tomorrow! Only on RidinPineMGH.Blogspot.com