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Boston Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester, who overcame cancer to become one of
the best pitchers in the American League, has agreed to a five-year, $30
million contract extension with a $13 million team option in 2014, a source
close to the team told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday.
The deal is contingent on Lester passing a physical Tuesday. The impending
deal is the largest given to a pitcher with around two years of service time,
doubling the four-year, $15 million deal Cleveland's Fausto Carmona signed at
the beginning of last season. If the Red Sox exercise the option, they will
have kept Lester off the free-agent market for two years.
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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- According a Yahoo! Sports report by Jeff Passan, the Red
Sox and Jon Lester have agreed to a five-year contract extension (pending a
physical) worth $30 million with a team option for $13 million in 2014.
While Lester declined to confirm the report, the pitcher did tell the Globe
that talks between his agent, Josh Yates, and the Red Sox had intensified in
recent days, saying, "I know that the past couple days have been pretty good."
"I think it's in the process of hopefully at some point getting done," Lester
also said, as he left City of Palms Park at 3 p.m. "I couldn't tell you when
or what day."
Lester, who is pitching tomorrow in Bradenton, Fla., against the Pirates,
joins Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis as home-grown Red Sox to agree to
extensions this offseason. The commitment to Lester adds another chapter to
his Hollywood script career -- the cancer survivor who pitched a no-hitter
and clinched a World Series now, it seems, will spend the prime of his career
with the same organization.
"Nothing that I know of has been finalized," Lester said. "I'm sure when it
does become final, if it does, we'll announce it."
Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino said "I cannot confirm or deny" the
report this afternoon.
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