Cubs reportedy land big prize: Jon Lester in 6-year, $155 million deal
The Cubs, along with the other contenders in the Jon Lester derby, remained in wait Tuesday.
That wait apparently ended early Wednesday morning as Twitter was all abuzz with the news that the prized free agent has agreed to terms with the Cubs.
The ace left-hander, who played his entire career with the Boston Red Sox before being traded to the Oakland Athletics this past season, reportedly has agreed to a six-year, $155 million deal with the North Siders.
That gives the 31-year-old left-hander the second-highest average annual salary ever for a starting pitcher.
Lester has a 116-67 career record with a 3.58 ERA in 253 games.
Earlier reports Tuesday went back and forth between the Giants being in and out of it, with the Cubs and Red Sox hanging in. Late Tuesday, the Giants told media covering the team that they were out of the Lester race.
Then the news came that the Red Sox were out of it as well. New Cubs manager Joe Maddon got his wish.
“I hope we win it,” Maddon said Tuesday as the wait continued. “I spoke to him on the phone once. I've never spoken to Jon before that, adversarially with the Rays and the Red Sox for many years, always admired his work from a distance.
“This is a guy when the game is really big he was always at his best. To possibly get this opportunity to work with him for the first time is very exciting.
“So I honest to God don't know where this is at right now. I did talk to him before — I think it was before Thanksgiving, actually. We had a great conversation, again, because I'd never really spoke with him before. It would be a great boon to us to have this come off.”
Montero big catch:
While the Cubs were waiting for a decision by free-agent pitcher Jon Lester, they weren't wasting time at the winter meetings in San Diego.
They obtained left-handed hitting catcher Miguel Montero from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday for minor-league pitchers Jeferson Mejia and Zack Godley. One day earlier, the Cubs and free-agent pitcher Jason Hammel agreed on a two-year deal.
Montero was a National League all-star in 2014 and in 2011. This year he had a hitting line of .243/.329/.370 with 13 home runs and 72 RBI. His career line is .264/.342/.421. He batted .282 with 18 homers and 86 RBI in 2011, and in 2012 he had 15 homers and 88 RBI.
Earlier this off-season, the Cubs struck out in their attempt to land free-agent catcher Russell Martin, who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Cubs like Montero's defensive abilities, including his game-calling and pitch framing.
The Cubs ended last season with Welington Castillo and John Baker as their catchers, but they did not tender a contract to Baker. It's possible Montero could platoon with the right-handed hitting Castillo, or the Cubs could consider trading Castillo.
Montero has three years and $40 million left on his contract.
“Really gives us a solid presence in the catching position,” manager Joe Maddon told reporters. “This is a guy that has caught a lot of games; we were a little bit concerned about that, we wanted to try to be able to dole out the work as we moved forward.
“But for right now it's a tremendous new addition; it's a great first step building into this winter. I don't really know him personally, I played against him in interleague play, very prodigious offensive player. His catching skills are great. We're excited about it.”
Glad to have him:
Maddon said he was glad Dave Martinez was able to rejoin him as Cubs bench coach, a role he served under Maddon in Tampa Bay. Brandon Hyde moves from bench coach to first-base coach for the Cubs.
“It was very important,” Maddon said. “And again, that's not to denigrate any of the coaches that were there already, because I really had some great conversations with Brandon Hyde. He sounded like an interesting and young coach …
“But Davey knows me in the dugout. I can tend to be kind of active. And like I told Brandon, I said, ‘You probably would have caught up after two weeks or a month,' but for right now I thought this was the right way to go. “And it was not a lack of respect for him whatsoever. He understood. He was really good about it.”