It seems like this is being discussed in a few different threads, so maybe we can consolidate things here.
The A's won't re-sign Lester, barring a massive change in philosophy.
Bob Klapsich says that the MFY have to sign Lester or Scherzer, because their rotation is in shambles.
The Cubs have money and are on the precipice of bringing all the hitters that are at the core of Theo's "five-year plan" to the majors. The question is whether ownership is willing to spend, particularly given how well Theo's done with trades/reclamation projects for starters and how poorly his one big-money starter (Edwin Jackson) has fared.
Of course, there are really no teams that you can say "would never" sign Lester other than the skinflints (PIT, OAK, TB, KC, HOU, MIN, SD, and probably CLE, NYM, COL and SF).
It's interesting that after spending most of the week saying that there was no way Lester would be back, Edes has started tweeting things like this and this, and he retweeted this (the point being that Edes seems to think Lester's return is possible if unlikely).
Also worth noting is that CHB made clear (I won't link to CHB articles) that Lester and Henry had a somewhat substantive discussion when Henry talked to Lester as he was leaving Fenway:
Maybe it was all just personal expressions of admiration, but I think it's worth noting that Henry went out of his way to say goodbye to Lester (especially given Klapish's theory that Cashman wishing Lester luck when he was diagnosed with cancer makes Lester feel warm fuzzies about the MFY).
I think the FO plans to offer Lester something significant --- let's say 6/$120 -- and make a real effort to re-sign him without completely breaking the bank. I think the issue will be how close to the 6/$144 Scherzer turned down other teams will offer Lester. I expect the Sox will be willing to pay somewhere between 6/$120 and 6/$144, but it's entirely possible that they're not even willing to go to 6 years in the first place, in which case I don't think Lester will be back.
The A's won't re-sign Lester, barring a massive change in philosophy.
Bob Klapsich says that the MFY have to sign Lester or Scherzer, because their rotation is in shambles.
The Cubs have money and are on the precipice of bringing all the hitters that are at the core of Theo's "five-year plan" to the majors. The question is whether ownership is willing to spend, particularly given how well Theo's done with trades/reclamation projects for starters and how poorly his one big-money starter (Edwin Jackson) has fared.
Of course, there are really no teams that you can say "would never" sign Lester other than the skinflints (PIT, OAK, TB, KC, HOU, MIN, SD, and probably CLE, NYM, COL and SF).
It's interesting that after spending most of the week saying that there was no way Lester would be back, Edes has started tweeting things like this and this, and he retweeted this (the point being that Edes seems to think Lester's return is possible if unlikely).
Also worth noting is that CHB made clear (I won't link to CHB articles) that Lester and Henry had a somewhat substantive discussion when Henry talked to Lester as he was leaving Fenway:
“It was kind of weird because I didn’t know he wanted to talk to me,’’ said Lester. “I thought he was just saying, ‘Bye,’ and I kind of hugged him and he was like, ‘Well, I still want to talk to you.’ I think the talk went well. I don’t want to give away a lot of it. It was pretty personal. But the coolest part was he told me, ‘You’re a Red Sox forever.’ To me that meant the most. Just kind of like, ‘Hey, we appreciate everything you’ve done. This was a business move, but you’re still a Red Sox and you’ll always be a Red Sox, no matter what happens in the future.’ To me, that was the coolest part.
Maybe it was all just personal expressions of admiration, but I think it's worth noting that Henry went out of his way to say goodbye to Lester (especially given Klapish's theory that Cashman wishing Lester luck when he was diagnosed with cancer makes Lester feel warm fuzzies about the MFY).
I think the FO plans to offer Lester something significant --- let's say 6/$120 -- and make a real effort to re-sign him without completely breaking the bank. I think the issue will be how close to the 6/$144 Scherzer turned down other teams will offer Lester. I expect the Sox will be willing to pay somewhere between 6/$120 and 6/$144, but it's entirely possible that they're not even willing to go to 6 years in the first place, in which case I don't think Lester will be back.