Rosenthal: Cubs most likely team to land Lester

[Castros trade value]

Well, 2015 can't get here soon enough.

 

http://www.sportsmedia101.com/newyorkyankees/2014/08/11/mlb-rumors-chicago-cubs-not-new-york-yankees-considered-favorites-to-sign-oakland-as-starter-jon-lester/

 

 

Because Lester was dealt from Boston to Oakland, the A's can't offer Lester a qualifying offer at the end of the season that would have a first-round draft pick attached to it, which only further drives up his asking price since the draft pick is no longer in play; Lester rejected a four-year, $70 million extension from Boston over the winter and is looking for a deal over $100 million-plus.

 

However, while Lester gets talked about for the Yankees, they may not be the favorites this winter to land the veteran lefty ace pitcher, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has reported that the Chicago Cubs might be the team that lands Lester, especially after talking to some of Lester's former teammates, who get the notion that he'll land in the Windy City come 2015.

 

"Some of Jon Lester‘s former teammates believe the southpaw will sign with the Cubs this offseason. Lester, of course, has ties to Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, and the Cubs’ recent waiver claim of Cole Hamels indicates that the team is prepared to spend big money on a top-tier starting pitcher."

 

It would make sense for the Cubs to be in on Lester for several reasons; a few of which Rosenthal touched on in the video. The first is the Cubs willingness to spend money, as they were serious in trying to pursue Cole Hamels from the Philadelphia Phillies before he was pulled back off waivers last week.

 

In the winter, the Cubs were the runner-ups to the Yankees in their pursuit of Masahiro Tanaka before he decided to sign with the Yankees in January. Chicago getting more comfortable in offering big money for a pitcher, so they could be a major player in offering Lester a big-time contract this winter.

 

The other, the strong ties to the Cubs president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer from their days with the Red Sox. Both Epstein and Hoyer could have a huge influence and know how to persuade Lester into taking an offer from them instead of a team like the Yankees and pitching in a league that favors pitching.

[sneakypower]

http://i1.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/400/draft_lens6721782module54683292photo_1251657037Charlie_Brown_Football.jpg

[Castros trade value]

http://i1.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/400/draft_lens6721782module54683292photo_1251657037Charlie_Brown_Football.jpg

 

http://murmolka.com/img/l/www.gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs1/1714994_o.gif

[Tryptamine]

Lester/Arrieta/McCarthy/Hendricks and whoever wins the last spot amongst Doubront/Straily/Turner/Wada. It's not great, but it's definitely a playoff feasible rotation.

[Brian]

lol, Would love to field a team of players the Cubs were favorites to land.

[Guest]

lol, Would love to field a team of players the Cubs were favorites to land.

 

Would it beat a team of players the Bulls were favorites to land?

[Guest]

Lol Schuster reported this I'm a score update but credited bleacher nation

[Gmoney08]

lol, Would love to field a team of players the Cubs were favorites to land.

 

Would it beat a team of players the Bulls were favorites to land?

 

Nobody could beat the Bulls FA 2nd place finishes.

 

They are the dream team of FA 2nd place finishes.

[Guest]

lol, Would love to field a team of players the Cubs were favorites to land.

 

Would it beat a team of players the Bulls were favorites to land?

 

Nobody could beat the Bulls FA 2nd place finishes.

 

They are the dream team of FA 2nd place finishes.

 

The Truth.

[UMFan83]

lol, Would love to field a team of players the Cubs were favorites to land.

 

Would it beat a team of players the Bulls were favorites to land?

 

Nobody could beat the Bulls FA 2nd place finishes.

 

They are the dream team of FA 2nd place finishes.

 

PG: LeBron James

SG: Kobe Bryant

SF: Carmelo Anthony

PF: Kevin Garnett

C: Chris Bosh

 

BN: Dwyane Wade, Kevin Love, younger Pau Gasol

[jersey cubs fan]

lol, Would love to field a team of players the Cubs were favorites to land.

 

Would it beat a team of players the Bulls were favorites to land?

 

Nobody could beat the Bulls FA 2nd place finishes.

 

They are the dream team of FA 2nd place finishes.

 

PG: LeBron James

SG: Kobe Bryant

SF: Carmelo Anthony

PF: Kevin Garnett

C: Chris Bosh

 

BN: Dwyane Wade, Kevin Love, younger Pau Gasol

 

I still think the Cubs' guys would win in baseball.

[Him]

He's going to talk to Shark about pitching in Chicago. Hopefully he says good things...

[KingCubsFan]

He's going to talk to Shark about pitching in Chicago. Hopefully he says good things...

I doubt Shark has many good things to say about the Cubs organization.

[NOLA]

He's going to talk to Shark about pitching in Chicago. Hopefully he says good things...

We're screwed.

[Sammy Sofa]

He's going to talk to Shark about pitching in Chicago. Hopefully he says good things...

 

Great. The only way that could be worse is if he said he was basing his decision on the state of the clubhouse.

[Derwood]

lol, Would love to field a team of players the Cubs were favorites to land.

 

Would it beat a team of players the Bulls were favorites to land?

 

Nobody could beat the Bulls FA 2nd place finishes.

 

They are the dream team of FA 2nd place finishes.

 

If only Jerry Krause didn't hate cornrows....

[Guest]

lol, Would love to field a team of players the Cubs were favorites to land.

 

Would it beat a team of players the Bulls were favorites to land?

 

Nobody could beat the Bulls FA 2nd place finishes.

 

They are the dream team of FA 2nd place finishes.

 

If only Jerry Krause didn't hate cornrows....

 

What is this even a reference to?

 

Darius Miles?

[Derwood]

lol, Would love to field a team of players the Cubs were favorites to land.

 

Would it beat a team of players the Bulls were favorites to land?

 

Nobody could beat the Bulls FA 2nd place finishes.

 

They are the dream team of FA 2nd place finishes.

 

If only Jerry Krause didn't hate cornrows....

 

What is this even a reference to?

 

Darius Miles?

 

ha ha ha....yeah

[davell]

Not worried about Shark bad mouthing us. One, I don't think he will. He seemed to understand what we were doing. Two, even if he did, I seriously doubt it'd mean that much anyway. Lester knows our FO much better than he'll get to know Shark over a two month period.

[XZero771679666304]

Not worried about Shark bad mouthing us. One, I don't think he will. He seemed to understand what we were doing. Two, even if he did, I seriously doubt it'd mean that much anyway. Lester knows our FO much better than he'll get to know Shark over a two month period.

 

For sure.

 

I'm not saying the Cubs will sign Lester, but I am as optimistic about the possibility as I have been about any potential big FA signing that I can remember.

[sneakypower]

Lester's won two WS, i'm pretty confident he'll prioritize money so much with this contract he'll care about little else in terms of team situations

[Clem Fandango]

Lester's won two WS, i'm pretty confident he'll prioritize money so much with this contract he'll care about little else in terms of team situations

 

Even if he wanted to win more, the Cubs are an attractive franchise to hitch his wagon to right now

[Cubswin11]

Acquiring ex-Red Sox players, who have overcome cancer and whose last team was in California. New market inefficiency.

[DonnieD]

Lester's won two WS, i'm pretty confident he'll prioritize money so much with this contract he'll care about little else in terms of team situations

 

I couldn't disagree more. Lester isn't hurting here, he's made almost $45M in salary in his career. We don't know what his priorities will be but I would be shocked if it ends up being money. He should get multiple competitive offers so I would expect "team situations" will be the deciding factor. Hopefully his experience with this Front Office, his experience "breaking a curse", and the promise of this rebuild can sway his decision.

[JennieGarthAlgar]

Lester's won two WS, i'm pretty confident he'll prioritize money so much with this contract he'll care about little else in terms of team situations

 

I couldn't disagree more. Lester isn't hurting here, he's made almost $45M in salary in his career. We don't know what his priorities will be but I would be shocked if it ends up being money. He should get multiple competitive offers so I would expect "team situations" will be the deciding factor. Hopefully his experience with this Front Office, his experience "breaking a curse", and the promise of this rebuild can sway his decision.

 

http://img.pandawhale.com/post-38735-Waynes-World-Garth-sells-out-g-FUvz.gif