Jon Lester’s contract expires after this season, and the ideal outcome for the Boston Red Sox starter is to remain with the only team for which he has ever played.
“I look at it this way: This is where I want to be,” Lester said, per Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe. “When it comes down to it, the first day (of free agency) I hope Boston is the first team that calls me and I don’t have to worry about it.
“I’m playing right now for the Red Sox and I want to play for them for the rest of my career. … It’s all I’ve known. I don’t like the unknown.”
What does the future hold?
“The right time will come when we can sit down and talk about it, whether it’s tomorrow or in four months,” Lester said. “This is where I want to be. Let’s say the year ends tomorrow and I go to free agency. It doesn’t mean I don’t still want to be a Red Sox. It doesn’t change anything. Now they just have more competition.’’
Lester, who’s currently in Minnesota representing the American League at the 2014 MLB All-Star Game, is in the midst of a fantastic season. He’s 9-7 with a 2.65 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 134 strikeouts in 129 innings. The 30-year-old left-hander has picked up a win in five of his last six decisions, and Boston has won eight of the last nine games he has pitched. Lester’s 2014 All-Star selection is the third of his career and first since 2011.
