Jon Lester Would Consider Mid-Season Extension

Red Sox staff ace Jon Lester would consider an in-season extension, if the team comes forward with an offer that seems likely to lead to quick finalization of a deal, reports WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford.

Recent reports have fluctuated as to the plausibility of an in-season extension between the two sides. After we learned that the club intended to make a final run at a deal, a later report indicated that the lefty prefers to avoid the distraction of talks during a campaign. It now appears that he is not entirely unwilling to talk contract, so long as the side effects can be minimized.

Bradford writes that Lester might be inclined to allow a re-opening of discussions if the team ups its offer to the five-year, $120MM range. That would represent a major jump up from the last reported offer, a four-year, $70MM price that the club has since characterized as a starting point. As Bradford notes, that would land in the neighborhood of the Cole Hamels extension (six years, $144M), which was signed under somewhat similar circumstances.