As we all know, the Chicago Cubs are heavily pursuing free agent pitcher Jon Lester. With the connection of Lester and Cubs President Theo Epstein, it seems to be a good fit for Lester. He'd also be the ideal number one starter for Chicago.
As of right now, I'd have to say that the Boston Red Sox are the frontrunners. The Cubs are a rebuilding team and are still maybe two or elite pitchers away from being a contender which may be two years from now.
What makes me think Boston is in the lead for the services of Lester is the acquisitions of Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. That shows Lester the Red Sox's willingness to be a winner right now.
It was also reported that initially, the Red Sox offered Jon Lester a contract of 6 years and between the $110-$120 million range. It was reported just the other day that the Cubs offered Lester 6 year deal worth "just north" of $135 million. The question for Lester is, what do you want more? To win right now and take less money, or to take more money and be a part of a team with a much brighter future.
We'll see, but if the Cubs miss out on Lester, they can't just give up on the offseason, they must chase Max Scherzer. Scherzer is just as good, if not better than Lester and Scherzer would probably cost the Cubs more as well. It'd be worth it, though. The Cubs are in desperate need of a legit number one starting pitcher. Here's what the starting five would most likely look like on Opening Day as of right now: Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, Travis Wood, Edwin Jackson and Tsuyoshi Wada. Not very good.
Adding Scherzer to that would be a great first step and then maybe adding a nice number two or three in guys like; Jake Peavy, Francisco Liriano or Jason Hammel.
There's a lot of options for the Cubs right now. Personally, I'd be very upset if the Cubs miss out on Lester. He'd be great at the top of the Cubs rotation. Before free agency, I was hoping of acquisitions of Lester, Cole Hamels and Jake Peavy. That doesn't seem like reality now as the Cubs have already said they won't overspend and be heavy spenders this offseason.
Now I can see the Cubs acquiring Scherzer, Peavy and maybe Liriano. Which would give the Cubs a nice top three starters. In reality, don't expect all three. I'd be surprised if two of those names were signed by Chicago but regardless, the Cubs must sign Jon Lester or Max Scherzer. It's crucial for their future.
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