For Cubs and Lester, it was perfect timing
The what-ifs were almost too numerous to count Monday.
What if the Cubs hadn't hired Joe Maddon as manager? Would Jon Lester have signed to pitch for them?
What if the Boston Red Sox, the only organization Lester knew, hadn't traded him to Oakland during this past season? Would he have stayed at Fenway Park?
The what-if I raised at the Cubs' lavish news conference introducing Lester was this: If the Cubs' rebuilding plan hadn't been ahead of schedule, would this have been the time to sign Lester to a six-year, $155 million contract?
Cubs president Theo Epstein answered the questions by thanking the Cubs' front-office and scouting people for making a massive rebuilding project a relatively quick one so that Lester would find the team attractive.
“If it weren't for those things, I don't think Jon Lester would be choosing the Cubs,” Epstein said. “It's not every day that the top free agent goes to a team that finished in last place. There's more to it than that. We have a lot of great things going for us.
“I think all those things mattered. A lot of people contributed to getting the Cubs to a point where we were a viable contender (for Lester).”
Lester followed up with a little humor.
“You sit down and take all the information in, like Theo just rambled on,” he said with a smile. “With all that information in front of you, you make that decision.
“I like to win. People who know me know I'm not very happy when we lose.”
Lester added that the information the Cubs provided as a selling job made the decision to come to Chicago easier, the money notwithstanding.
The left-handed pitcher, who turns 31 on Jan. 7, also did some firsthand research on the Cubs.
After being traded by the Red Sox to the A's last July 31, Lester found himself teammates with former Cubs pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel (who recently signed back with the Cubs).
Lester also talked with Ryan Dempster, the former Cubs pitcher who was a teammate of Lester's with the Red Sox in 2013 and now is a member of the Cubs' front office.
“Are these guys close? That was my question to Jeff,” Lester said. “Are they close? Are they there? Getting information from him, getting information from Hammel, talking to (Dempster), obviously Demp has his roots here, I really enjoyed talking to him about it, especially through the (free-agent) process.
“Obviously I wouldn't be here right now if those guys didn't speak highly of Chicago.”
The Cubs apparently like the position they're in so much that they gave Lester the richest contract in team history, surpassing the eight-year, $136 million contract the previous administration gave to outfielder Alfonso Soriano after the 2006 season.
Between the Red Sox and Athletics this year, Lester was 16-11 with a 2.46 ERA. For his career, which began in Boston in 2006, he is 116-67 with a 3.58 ERA.
“This is a very, very significant day for the Cubs for a lot of great reasons,” Epstein said. “Obviously, we get better on the field as Jon is the perfect pitcher to lead our rotation for where we want to go.
“We get better in the clubhouse with Jon's character and work ethic and his ability to perform at his best when the games matter most, which sets a great example for our players.
“This signing really marks a transition of sorts for the Cubs, the start of a period where we are clearly very serious about bringing a World Series to the Cubs and the people of Chicago. It's a great day for our fans. They've been so patient with us, incredibly patient, over the last few years, and they truly deserve a pitcher and a person of this caliber to call their own.”
Of course, Lester and Epstein aren't strangers to one another. Lester's career in Boston coincided with Epstein's time as running the Red Sox' baseball operations until he came to Chicago in the fall of 2011.
“He is serious, driven,” Epstein said. “He gets his values from his parents. His dad's a former policeman. Both his parents place a tremendous emphasis on pride, self-respect, hard work, doing your job, not getting caught up in yourself or your ego.
“He's always been that way. He's been a really serious worker, extremely competitive. There won't be any surprises. That's the biggest thing for us, was the comfort level.
“Sooner or later, someone is going to have to put their trust in us. We're going to have to put our trust in someone. With someone you know well, there won't be any surprises off the field. There won't be any surprises in the clubhouse. There won't be any surprises on the field.
“He is who he says he is.”
bmiles@dailyherald.com