Oakland Athletics Trade Rumors: Jon Lester to Make a Decision Soon
During this offseason, talks have mainly surrounded top free agent, Jon Lester. The left-handed pitcher reportedly has numerous teams vying for him with contracts worth at least $150 millions through six-years. According to some sources, his decision should be made by Tuesday or Wednesday, at the latest.
According to these sources, the teams that are in competition with one another for the ace include the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. Although the contracts are relatively equal, FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal reported that one team showed its willingness to offer a seven-year deal worth $175 million. However, sources do not believe that this higher offer is enough to convince Lester.
The sources added that as of Monday night, the teams that appeared to be the favorites were the Giants and Cubs. However, all four teams have not been told any thing definitive.
"We're still on the board," Giants' general manager Brian Sabean said, reported by the San Francisco Gate. "We've been straightforward, and we trust they have been with us. If we weren't a viable candidate, we would have been told."
Red Sox General Manager, Ben Cherington, commented, according to ESPN, "We need to build a rotation and we need to be in on all sorts of stuff and we have been in on all sorts of stuff. There are probably 15 to 20 starting pitching scenarios we've talked about and worked on. Not all of those are going to land; more won't than will. But we're working as hard as we can. We're going to build a good rotation."
Lester finished 6-4, posting a 2.35 ERA during his stint with the Oakland Athletics last season. Lester went 16-11 with a career best 2.45 ERA in 2014,. Overall, his career win-loss record is 116-67 with a 3.58 ERA over nine seasons.
