FORT MYERS, Fla. — Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester had nothing new to report Wednesday regarding a possible contract extension.
Lester’s agents, Seth and Sam Levinson, were in Fort Myers last week, which increased the buzz surrounding the 30-year-old’s contract situation. But Lester, who is slated to become a free agent next offseason, said Wednesday at JetBlue Park that he wasn’t aware of any progress in contract talks.
“I’m sure you guys will know before I do on anything that happens, but nothing has gone on recently,” Lester said Wednesday.
Lester, who has spent his first eight seasons in Boston, said over the offseason that he’d take a hometown discount to remain with the organization that drafted him in 2002. The left-hander figures to be one of the most coveted starting pitchers on the open market next winter if he tests free agency, though, so certainly there’s a lot of interest in how the current situation plays out.
“Like I said, I just play baseball,” Lester said. “I let those guys talk and handle all that stuff. Those are the guys with more answers than me, if you guys want to, I guess, get more answers from Seth or Sam or (Red Sox general manager) Ben (Cherington) or any of those guys. I think they’ll be able to answer a little bit better than I will in this whole deal right now.”
Lester went 15-8 with a 3.75 ERA in 33 regular-season starts last season and was instrumental in the Red Sox’s World Series run.
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