Very true. However I was taking more of the stance of the team was supposed to meet with Lester before the Cubs so maybe an offer is on the table etc...NDame616 said:
The premature re-signing Lester thread
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Gammons on CBS Sports Radio
The Cubs think hes going back to Boston, Gammons said. He and his reps are going to wait and see if the Yanks jump in & they might.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/11/18/gammons-cubs-believe-jon-lester-will-sign-with-red-sox/
The Cubs think hes going back to Boston, Gammons said. He and his reps are going to wait and see if the Yanks jump in & they might.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/11/18/gammons-cubs-believe-jon-lester-will-sign-with-red-sox/
I wonder if the "hometown discount" -- to the extent there is one -- is really Lester's side saying to the Sox something along the lines of that if they can reach an acceptable number with the Sox, that they won't shop it, while not making such accommodations to other teams.
RedOctober3829 said:
How nice would it be to have one of our guys finally turn down Yankee money and come back? Yeah, yeah, these guys have a right to get the biggest deal they can for themselves and their families but it would still be nice to see.
Regarding the "hometown discount," I mentioned it before, but Lester in his 2014 ST interview with WBZ said that a discount would apply because he was a year away from FA at that point. He's no longer a year away now.
Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN
The Braves have a meeting with Jon Lester this week.
This makes no sense to me. The Braves aren't going after high priced FAs this year. They need offense in addition to shoring up the starting staff, but I seriously doubt they can afford Lester. This sounds more like a "Let's meet the guy. He lives in the area. Maybe the fans will think we're really trying." type of meeting.
The Braves have a meeting with Jon Lester this week.
This makes no sense to me. The Braves aren't going after high priced FAs this year. They need offense in addition to shoring up the starting staff, but I seriously doubt they can afford Lester. This sounds more like a "Let's meet the guy. He lives in the area. Maybe the fans will think we're really trying." type of meeting.
It's a PR meeting abs. I can't imagine them gutting their team and then signing Lester to a $150 million or more type of contract. Unless they have moves up their sleeve that they haven't made public, this makes little sense.absintheofmalaise said:
absintheofmalaise said:
Or maybe this is part of a Miami-style FA push in advance of the new ballpark?
FWIW(and I don't know if it's 100% true but he's been right in the past and he's been covering the Red Sox for 2 decades for various outlets) my source who I referenced before just said to me that his Red Sox insider said at the end of the season he told Oakland that if it was at all possible he'd be back in Boston.
Here's more on Lester from the Atlanta perspective of Dave O'Brien of the AJC. Since it's multiple tweets, I will simply post the text from the tweets and post the link to his Twitter page.
https://twitter.com/DOBrienAJC
https://twitter.com/DOBrienAJC
Lester's offseason home is in Georgia. If they were willing to spend the money, I would imagine Lester would be pretty willing to take it. Then we could all blame his departure on his wife, or her extended family, or something. Anyway, I wouldn't discount the significance here, but I'm not that familiar with the Barves' finances.RedOctober3829 said:
The only way I can see it making sense for Atlanta is if they backload the deal to start bigger payments after they move into their new stadium as O'Brien said.chrisfont9 said:
OK, but consider that in this case Lester might be truly willing to take a hometown discount. He's got kids, who at some point are going to benefit from one home instead of two. Georgia is run by republicans, so I'm sure they have a nice juicy regressive tax structure for millionaires. I bet his Barves' number is lower than the one he'd want from the Sox. Pure speculation of course. But if your kids are in school in Georgia, it must suck to move to Boston from April to September or so.RedOctober3829 said:
“@JMastrodonato: Seems like a good time to remind y'all of Jon Lester's comments to @jtomase after he was traded: http://t.co/BCYnHWtqKU”
JimD said:
Nothing has changed from July. The Red Sox knew when they traded Lester that this offseason every (most? many?) big market teams would go after him. No one in the world is surprised that the Yankees may be interested and the Cubs are going to give him an offer.
And next week I expect a very public Yankees/Lester meeting that will somehow be "leaked"
The Yankees have truly black holes to fill at shortstop, third base, and even first base if the Tex man continues to disable himself. They actually have a plethora of starting pitching. Thus, it makes no sense to go after Lester except to keep him from Boston.
From a distance it would seem the internal debate may well be between an offer at 6/132 or something close to 6/150.
Do the Sox put 6/150 on the table now to try and get this done soon (perhaps even on a take it or leave it (close to) final offer basis) or do they "open" with 6/132 and wait/hope for Lester to come back around near the end of the process. If the Sox are not prepared to do at least 6/132 now I would think that Lester may take that as a lack of seriousness and the PR spin may well ensue on both sides.
Do the Sox put 6/150 on the table now to try and get this done soon (perhaps even on a take it or leave it (close to) final offer basis) or do they "open" with 6/132 and wait/hope for Lester to come back around near the end of the process. If the Sox are not prepared to do at least 6/132 now I would think that Lester may take that as a lack of seriousness and the PR spin may well ensue on both sides.
Yeah, the natural human reaction here is that if the Sox messed with him once, they have absolutely no license to do so again if they want him to sign.KillerBs said:
The Sox have been known to make a preemptive take-it-or-leave-it offer; Crawford, of course, and that's kind of what the Matsuzaka posting fee was. My guess is that Henry, for one, doesn't want a protracted bidding war, especially if the Yanks are involved. There's no bargain available here, so a high bid would be indicated (and yes, the history may make that all the more vital).
jim Bowden @JimBowden_ESPN 1m1 minute ago
#Cardinals have joined the Red Sox, Cubs and Braves in pursuit of Jon Lester according to a club source which makes sense after Miller trade
https://twitter.com/JimBowden_ESPN/status/534831385618710528
#Cardinals have joined the Red Sox, Cubs and Braves in pursuit of Jon Lester according to a club source which makes sense after Miller trade
https://twitter.com/JimBowden_ESPN/status/534831385618710528
Gordon Edes @GordonEdes
The Red Sox have made an offer to pitcher Jon Lester, according to a major league source, but do not expect a quick decision.
The Red Sox have made an offer to pitcher Jon Lester, according to a major league source, but do not expect a quick decision.
boca said:
Is it safe to assume that it's above 4/$70M?
In all seriousness, I'm quite eager to hear the specifics.
As curious as I am about the specifics, I'm kind of glad we don't have them at this point, unless of course the caveat is "Lester and Boston are closing in on a deal with these specifics".Pozo the Clown said:Is it safe to assume that it's above 4/$70M?
In all seriousness, I'm quite eager to hear the specifics.
If it was suddenly leaked the Red Sox offered him say 6/132, I'd feel the offer probably wasn't well received and the leak is more LL playing the PR machine by letting the world know they made Lester a realistic offer.
Conversely, if the leak was something like 5/95, the Red Sox are probably permanently out of the discussion.
Gordon Edes @GordonEdes 2m2 minutes ago
Lester's agent, Seth Levinson, said the Sox showed "greet respect" for Lester. Would not comment further on negotiations
Lester's agent, Seth Levinson, said the Sox showed "greet respect" for Lester. Would not comment further on negotiations
That sounds like "thanks for the respect but we will take the great contract from the higher bidder"soxhop411 said:
I would think you'd basically have to offer Lester six years to have a deal make sense for both sides.
6/132 might well get this done, but I think a 5 year deal would have to be a significantly higher AAV, and probably wind up being something like 5/120 or 5/125... If that's the case, it's probably just worth going the sixth year.
6/132 might well get this done, but I think a 5 year deal would have to be a significantly higher AAV, and probably wind up being something like 5/120 or 5/125... If that's the case, it's probably just worth going the sixth year.
I don't think the Sox are in the position to make demands of the negotiation process by their approach last time around. I think they have to make their best offer and wait.
I am quite sure the Red So know how to negotiate contracts and don't make a habit of offering deals that have no timetable on acceptanceRudy Pemberton said:
The choice of the word "great" could not have been coincidental. Respect is an issue you hear over and over again from ballplayers and was at the root of Cano's choice to go to Seattle last year.CaskNFappin said:
I don't want to read into the quote, but I'm more encouraged by the statement that our chances are better than I suspected.
It seems like the Red Sox are pretty secure in their offer. Cubs don't want to match. Lester digging with the Braves?
CaskNFappin said:
RedOctober3829 said:
To opposite responses.
I would be shocked if 6/120 gets it done but that they have offered 6 years makes me think theres a chance.
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