John Henry Says Red Sox Blew Jon Lester Signing in 2014 Spring Training
With the Red Sox getting into Spring Training now, John Henry had an interesting comment when talking about the Jon Lester situation of 2014.
John Henry: 'I thought we blew the Jon Lester signing in spring training (of '14)"
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) February 18, 2019
John Henry said Monday that the #RedSox “blew it” in efforts to sign Jon Lester to a contract before the 2014 season. https://t.co/ho2CHYvtih
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) February 18, 2019
What Actually Happened
The year after the Red Sox won the World Series in 2013, they offered ace Jon Lester a four year, 70 million dollar deal that was considered “low-balling” him. The team struggled and had a major fire sale at the trade deadline in 2014 where they dealt Lester to the Oakland Athletics as the A’s figured Lester could help them make a deep postseason run. The Red Sox figured they could lure Lester back to Boston after the season was over, while rebuilding for the future as well. Their plan didn’t work out that way as Lester signed a six year, 155 million dollar deal with the Cubs.
Why Henry Mentioned Lester
Chris Sale will be an impending unrestricted free agent after this season with the Red Sox. John Henry is acknowledging the Lester mistake because he knows he cannot make it twice. The Red Sox screwed it up with Lester and he knows how valuable pitching is toward winning a championship.
In Conclusion
The Red Sox CANNOT make the same mistake again with Chris Sale that they did with Jon Lester. When fully healthy, Sale is one of the best left-handed pitchers in baseball. The Red Sox need to keep as much of this core in place as possible to try to win more World Series titles, like they successfully did in 2018. Besides, who wouldn’t want to see Chris Sale retire in a Red Sox uniform? It also looks like the bargaining for a new contract has already begun.
Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner said that the team has discussed a contract extension with ace Chris Sale https://t.co/bJxSau5ZTv pic.twitter.com/ifcAzQS9MJ
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) February 18, 2019
Let the negotiations begin. Get it done, John Henry!
-Alan Nahigian (BigAl2793)