The Cubs and P Jon Lester late last night agreed to a six-year, $155M contract, the "biggest contract in franchise history and the biggest signal yet that the Cubs are serious about competing for a playoff spot next season," according to sources cited by Gordon Wittenmyer of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. The Cubs’ bid was reportedly $20M "more than the last offer from the Red Sox." Another report said that the Giants -- "considered a favorite" early yesterday -- offered a seventh year for a total contract worth about $168M, or about $1.8M "less in annual value than the Cubs’ deal." Counting the five-year, $25M deal new manager Joe Maddon "signed last month," the signing of Lester makes it a $244M offseason for the Cubs already. That included Monday’s two-year, $20M deal to "bring back" P Jason Hammel as a free agent and yesterday’s trade for D-Backs C Miguel Montero. Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein "alluded to another deal that could be coming in the next several days, with indications pointing to another bat" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 12/10). USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale notes Lester's deal "will pay him the third-highest annual average salary" in MLB, and "certainly, it is a coup for Epstein" (USA TODAY, 12/10).
SOME DAY WE'LL GO ALL THE WAY: In Chicago, Mark Gonzales writes if there was "any question about the Cubs' offseason commitment to becoming a playoff contender, they took a significant and historic step by signing Lester" to a franchise-record contract (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/10). CSN Chicago’s David Kaplan said the Lester signing “signifies to baseball and to the fan base, more importantly, that the Cubs are open for business to try and contend." The Cubs “felt they needed a signature move” to show the team is “taking the next step" (CSNCHICAGO.com, 12/9). MLB.com's Phil Rogers wrote it is "fair to say the future has arrived" for the Cubs, probably "quicker than even Epstein himself believed it could a year ago" (MLB.com, 12/10). ESPN.com's Jayson Stark wrote, "With one thunderous acquisition, the Cubs were no longer that anonymous last-place team." They were an "official baseball powerhouse, making a statement about who they were and where they were going" (ESPN.com, 12/9). SPORTING NEWS' Jesse Spector writes Lester's arrival "signals a change as big as the new Jumbotron at Wrigley Field." A team that has not won a World Series since 1908 "suddenly harbors legitimate hopes of climbing to the top of the baseball world." But the Cubs "cannot afford to stop with Lester" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 12/10).
MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR RED SOX? In Boston, Peter Abraham notes the Red Sox "fell significantly short" with an offer of $135M to Lester. Tickets for the '15 season go on sale Saturday and fans "will want quick answers." Losing Lester, who developed in the team's farm system and won two World Series after beating cancer, "will be painful." Abraham: "The Sox had every chance to keep him and missed them all" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/10). Also in Boston, Michael Silverman writes it "defies common sense that the Red Sox thought they could sell Lester" on a $15-20M "discount based solely on an emotional appeal to him of locking down his place in Red Sox history by returning to them." Silverman: "Unless my common sense has deserted me, their hubris cannot be that intense." Team execs had to know that they "were not going to do what it took to nail down the closest thing to a sure-thing ace they could have found." In other words, they "wanted to be in the hunt for Lester but they were OK if they went home without him." Finishing a close second "was good enough for them in this case" (BOSTON HERALD, 12/10).
