The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants might need to pony up some extra cash if they want to sign Jon Lester.
The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo raised an interesting point Monday when he suggested that state income tax rates could play a role in which offer Lester accepts in free agency.
If Lester takes the state income tax rates under consideration, both the Dodgers and Giants might need to increase their offers. The California tax rate is 13.3 percent, which is the highest in the country.
The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, who also have been linked to Lester, offer far more palatable situations as far as taxes are concerned. The state income tax rate in Massachusetts is 5.2 percent, while the Illinois rate is 5 percent.
So, as Cafardo notes, the California teams might need to offer $10 million more or so to match the offers put forth by the Red Sox and/or Cubs if Boston and/or Chicago offers, say, $140 million.
This obviously is a small caveat, but it’s still worth noting as each team tries to sweeten the pot.
Thumbnail photo via Tom Szczerbowski/USA TODAY Sports Images
