The Jon Lester Signs w/ Cubs - 6 yrs/$155 Million

[Deeg]

The idea supposedly being floated is a vesting option based on 360 IP over the 5th and 6th years. If it's close, I'd hate to be the manager going to get the ball on Lester's last start of the year.

 

I'm on the edge with whether this is a good idea or not, but if in fact the Cubs are willing to go this route I'd be strongly inclined to attach a deadline. If you're the only club with a 7th year on the table, give Lester 24 hours to take it and force the other teams to match immediately if they're willing to pay up.

[Guest]

SF is NOT a more attractive team than the Cubs. The Red Sox might be for Lester, but not necessarily so.

 

SF won't be able to score runs at all, Cain and Lincicum are shells and Bumgarner arm may fall off at any minute.

[Sammy Sofa]

SF is NOT a more attractive team than the Cubs. The Red Sox might be for Lester, but not necessarily so.

 

SF won't be able to score runs at all, Cain and Lincicum are shells and Bumgarner arm may fall off at any minute.

 

Now do the Cubs.

[Tyrant]

SF is NOT a more attractive team than the Cubs.

 

they literally just won the world series

[craig]

The idea supposedly being floated is a vesting option based on 360 IP over the 5th and 6th years. If it's close, I'd hate to be the manager going to get the ball on Lester's last start of the year.

 

I'm on the edge with whether this is a good idea or not, but if in fact the Cubs are willing to go this route I'd be strongly inclined to attach a deadline. If you're the only club with a 7th year on the table, give Lester 24 hours to take it and force the other teams to match immediately if they're willing to pay up.

 

Hi, deeg. I actually like that idea. Can't-lose value. 360 innings isn't easy, if the vesting threshold is really that high. If he's healthy enough and effective enough to still be racking up 180+ innings/year at the back-end of the 6-year deal, that means the 6-year deal has worked out really, really well. Terrific. And assuming the 7th year doesn't vest, you've lost nothing extra. So I'd very willingly support offering that.

[Deeg]

The idea supposedly being floated is a vesting option based on 360 IP over the 5th and 6th years. If it's close, I'd hate to be the manager going to get the ball on Lester's last start of the year.

 

I'm on the edge with whether this is a good idea or not, but if in fact the Cubs are willing to go this route I'd be strongly inclined to attach a deadline. If you're the only club with a 7th year on the table, give Lester 24 hours to take it and force the other teams to match immediately if they're willing to pay up.

 

Hi, deeg. I actually like that idea. Can't-lose value. 360 innings isn't easy, if the vesting threshold is really that high. If he's healthy enough and effective enough to still be racking up 180+ innings/year at the back-end of the 6-year deal, that means the 6-year deal has worked out really, really well. Terrific. And assuming the 7th year doesn't vest, you've lost nothing extra. So I'd very willingly support offering that.

 

Yeah Craig, it's better than a straight-up 7th year, but the real question is whether or not it's enough to sway Lester for the same reasons you or I might find it acceptable.

 

As to the notion of whether SF is a more attractive option than the Cubs, well... I think only the most myopic of Cub fans could argue otherwise. SF has three WS titles in six years, and an organization that's proved it's willing to spend like an upper-middle class team to try and win more. They have a beautiful ballpark in a gorgeous setting that's one of the three best pitcher's parks in baseball. They have a beloved player's manager with three WS titles on his resume, and one of America's most liveable cities with a great climate (and insiders will tell you, the most similar to Boston in many respects) and they have possibly Lester's best friend in the game in Tim Hudson.

 

The Cubs have Theo. They have a bunch of minor leaguers who've accomplished nothing yet, a ballpark reconstruction that's just started and a well-respected manager who has to prove himself all over again in a big city. They have no track record of being willing to spend aggressively (even with Lester, they'd be comfortably in the lower half of payrolls because they've signed one contested FA in three years). They're all potential, and the Giants are concrete, established reality. You've got to go over the top on money to even be in the conversation against them, and even then whether simply being the high bidder is enough depends on how big a factor money is to Lester. Is he one of Theo's purported 99%, or is he weighing other factors highly enough that you have to blow the competition away to have a chance?

[Guest]

The idea supposedly being floated is a vesting option based on 360 IP over the 5th and 6th years. If it's close, I'd hate to be the manager going to get the ball on Lester's last start of the year.

 

I'm on the edge with whether this is a good idea or not, but if in fact the Cubs are willing to go this route I'd be strongly inclined to attach a deadline. If you're the only club with a 7th year on the table, give Lester 24 hours to take it and force the other teams to match immediately if they're willing to pay up.

 

Where is that being floated, out of curiosity?

[Sammy Sofa]

SF won't be able to score runs at all, Zito and Lincicum are shells and Cain's arm may fall off at any minute.

 

Fixed that for you; time travel back to after the 2012 WS and that's what you'd have. Or back to after the 2010 WS.

[Deeg]

The idea supposedly being floated is a vesting option based on 360 IP over the 5th and 6th years. If it's close, I'd hate to be the manager going to get the ball on Lester's last start of the year.

 

I'm on the edge with whether this is a good idea or not, but if in fact the Cubs are willing to go this route I'd be strongly inclined to attach a deadline. If you're the only club with a 7th year on the table, give Lester 24 hours to take it and force the other teams to match immediately if they're willing to pay up.

 

Where is that being floated, out of curiosity?

 

I've seen it on several twitters, plus Loxas and Arguello are both reporting it. That's why I said "supposedly".

[Hairyducked Idiot]

SF is NOT a more attractive team than the Cubs.

 

they literally just won the world series

 

And we have the No. 1 farm system, which is more important than that.

[Bruno7481]

SF is NOT a more attractive team than the Cubs.

 

they literally just won the world series

 

And we have the No. 1 farm system, which is more important than that.

 

Somebody needs to reset that sign across the street on the rooftops in RF.

[Guest]

If you polled league-wide who has the better outlook for the duration of Lester's next contract, you'd get far more than "only the most myopic of Cubs fans" voting for Chicago over SF. That doesn't mean that the Cubs are better at this instant, but it's not going to take extra money for Lester to stoop to taking the Cubs offer or anything silly like that.

[SouthSideRyan]

SF is NOT a more attractive team than the Cubs. The Red Sox might be for Lester, but not necessarily so.

 

SF won't be able to score runs at all, Cain and Lincicum are shells and Bumgarner arm may fall off at any minute.

 

The Giants have won 3 of the last 5 World Series for fucks sake

[SouthSideRyan]

SF is NOT a more attractive team than the Cubs.

 

they literally just won the world series

 

But we're gonna win the next million

[SouthSideRyan]

If you polled league-wide who has the better outlook for the duration of Lester's next contract, you'd get far more than "only the most myopic of Cubs fans" voting for Chicago over SF. That doesn't mean that the Cubs are better at this instant, but it's not going to take extra money for Lester to stoop to taking the Cubs offer or anything silly like that.

 

I...don't agree

[Guest]

I can't believe how many people are using WS wins as their argument.

[Sammy Sofa]

As part of an argument, yes.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I can't believe how many people are using WS wins as their argument.

 

All that means is that the Giants have been drafting No. 30 a bunch.

[Guest]

As part of an argument, yes.

 

It shouldn't be much of a part at all.

 

At least just talk about playoff appearances.

[craig]

..Yeah Craig, it's better than a straight-up 7th year, but the real question is whether or not it's enough to sway Lester for the same reasons you or I might find it acceptable....

 

Yeah, agree that a vesting 7th year may not be very persuasive or add much value to Lester or his agent.

 

It might, of course. With 7 years, that would take him through his age-37 season. That might seem like a lot of stability for a guy and his wife? But yeah, for exactly the reasons that we don't mind it at all, he probably wouldn't value it much. Still, sometimes a guy figures he's going to last, and getting an extra $25 secured might seem kind of appealing.

 

Maybe the agent would like it, too? They like to report the richest version, so $138/6 might not seem as productive as $160/7?

 

In either case, no harm in Hoyer offering it. Assuming he doesn't take it, no harm done; if he does sign, no harm done either.

[SouthSideRyan]

I can't believe how many people are using WS wins as their argument.

 

All that means is that the Giants have been drafting No. 30 a bunch.

 

Which really just means they missed out on Kris Bryant

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I can't believe how many people are using WS wins as their argument.

 

All that means is that the Giants have been drafting No. 30 a bunch.

 

Which really just means they missed out on Kris Bryant

 

I'm glad we didn't trade for Giancarlo Stanton because that money would have taken us out of a shot at Yoan Moncada.

[Sammy Sofa]

As part of an argument, yes.

 

It shouldn't be much of a part at all.

 

At least just talk about playoff appearances.

 

No.

[Tyrant]

I can't believe how many people are using WS wins as their argument.

 

i can't believe anyone thinks a veteran player would give much of a [expletive] about the cubs' farm system ranking.

[TruffleShuffle]

I can't believe how many people are using WS wins as their argument.

 

i can't believe anyone thinks a veteran player would give much of a [expletive] about the cubs' farm system ranking.

 

these guys aren't idiots. a veteran player like lester is more likely to come to a team that's on the upswing with a lot of positive buzz (cubs right now) than go to the cubs of 3-4 years ago, who were just as lousy but were almost completely bereft of young talent.