Red Sox free-agent-to-be Jon Lester says the six-year, $144MM deal the Tigers reportedly offered Max Scherzer would be "hard to walk away from," Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweets. Lester says there's no news concerning negotiations for his own contract but that the two sides continue to talk, tweets Alex Speier of WEEI.com. The Red Sox are reportedly trying to resolve Lester's contract situation by Opening Day, either by signing him or by suspending negotiations once the season starts. Here are more notes from around the American League.
- The Twins have "done their homework" on Stephen Drew, although it remains very unlikely that they'll sign him, 1500ESPN.com's Darren Wolfson tweets. The team watched Drew in a workout more than a month ago.
- The Twins added Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes this offseason, but they planned to spend even more money, assistant GM Rob Antony tells Phil Miller of the Star Tribune (via Twitter). "We were trying to give money away," Antony says. They were not able to sign any position players to significant contracts, however.
- Astros manager Bo Porter says one reason the team hasn't set its rotation yet is because it has the top waiver priority, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle tweets. That suggests the Astros could wait to claim a starting pitcher to insert into their rotation.
