Joe Maddon is very familiar with Jon Lester’s work, having competed against the left-hander for several years while serving as manager of the Tampa Bay Rays. He’d now like to have the pitcher at his disposal.
Maddon, who recently took over as the Chicago Cubs’ manager, told reporters Tuesday at the Major League Baseball winter meetings in San Diego that he spoke with Lester for the first time ever a few days before Thanksgiving. The Cubs, of course, are attempting to lure Lester to Chicago in free agency, and the club is believed to be among the finalists for the pitcher’s services.
“I hope we win it,” Maddon said of the Lester sweepstakes. “My role, I spoke to him on the phone once. I never spoke to Jon before that. Adversarial with the Rays and the (Boston) Red Sox for many years, I always admired his work from a distance. This is a guy that when the game was really big, he was always at his best.
“To possibly get the opportunity to work with him for the first time is very exciting. I honest to God don’t know where this is at right now. I spoke to him before Thanksgiving, we had a great conversation again, because I had never really spoken to him before. But it’d be a great boon for us to be able to pull this off.”
The Cubs, Red Sox, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers are considered by most to be the main suitors for Lester, who is expected to make his decision during this week’s meetings. Giants assistant general manager Bobby Evans said Tuesday he thinks the Red Sox and Cubs likely are the front-runners because each organization has some familiarity with Lester.
Lester, who turns 31 next month, spent his first eight-plus seasons with the Red Sox before being traded to the Oakland Athletics at this year’s MLB non-waiver trade deadline. The Cubs, meanwhile, have president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, general manager Jed Hoyer and senior vice president of scouting and player development Jason McLeod — all former Red Sox executives who built relationships with Lester during their time together in Boston.
“Can’t have any more respect for a baseball player than we do for him now,” Maddon said of Lester. “For us to be able to pull this off, it would be pretty outstanding.”
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
