The Nationals have added another well-known veteran to an already experienced pitching staff, announcing Wednesday that they’ve agreed to a one-year contract with left-hander Jon Lester. The ACES client will reportedly earn $5MM on a one-year deal for the upcoming season. The Nationals’ 40-man roster is now at 38 players.
Washington becomes the fourth organization for Lester, a 37-year-old who was previously with the Red Sox, Athletics and Cubs. Lester was especially impactful as a member of the Sox and Cubs, with whom he combined to win three World Series championships and pick up five All-Star appearances.
Lester spent the previous six seasons in Chicago, where he largely lived up to the $155MM deal he signed before 2015, but his production fell off during his last two years in their uniform. After he combined for a 4.64 ERA/4.62 SIERA in 232 2/3 innings during that span, the Cubs let Lester reach free agency earlier this winter, turning down his $25MM option for next season in favor of a $10MM buyout.
While Lester expressed interest in remaining with the Cubs after they allowed him to become a free agent, there haven’t been reports of serious talks between him and the team since then. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets that the Cubs did make an offer to Lester, but it was “nowhere near” the still-modest $5MM sum he’s promised on his deal with the Nats. By signing in D.C., Lester will be reunited with Dave Martinez, who served as Joe Maddon’s bench coach in Chicago prior to being named Nationals manager.
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said earlier in the offseason he wanted to add a starter to the back of the team’s rotation, and Lester gives him a durable veteran to add to the mix. The Nats have an enviable top three in Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin, but the rest of their rotation looks somewhat questionable with Joe Ross, Erick Fedde and Austin Voth as possibilities to earn roles in 2021.
Granted, after posting a 5.16 ERA/5.02 SIERA over 61 frames last year, Lester might not prove to be part of the solution, but the Nats are surely counting on Lester to be more of a veteran innings eater than the staff ace that he was at his peak. It’s possible the Nationals will continue to add to this mix with some non-roster veterans who can provide competition for Ross, Fedde, Voth and other in-house rotation options.
From a payroll vantage point, the recent additions of Lester and lefty reliever Brad Hand bump the Nats up to about $199MM in 2021 salary and about $195MM in terms of luxury-tax obligations, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez. That leaves the Nats with about $15MM of leeway to pursue further additions while still remaining south of the $210MM luxury-tax barrier.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Greenberg first reported that the two sides were in talks. The Chicago Sun Times’ Russell Dorsey added that a deal was close, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweeted that a deal was in place. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine added financial details.
He’s done imo
I think he’s still got some in him.
And to think we could have had Lester back for the same price as Perez smh
I think he could pitch to a under 5 era and eat innings.
Lester lost his fast ball 1/2 a decade ago yet still gets tons of guys out. Minors is filled with flamethrowers who never make the show. You either know how to get batters out or you don’t and Lester has it. Great sign for a 4/5 starter. Nats have done well this offseason
DD intervene
on second thought maybe not actually
Alonso smiles.
You said it, brother.
Bruh the Mets arent even that good you Mets fans need to be quiet until you guys win
Who’s your team the Orioles lol
Nats so we know how to win
Lmao I’m just excited for the mets to met and watch Lindor walk. I would hope Alonso could hit any team’s fourth starter. 77-85 my prediction.
Could be a decent innings eater.
I hope it’s as a LH long man because he’s cooked.
i doubt he’s interested in the BP.
Is this goes through….Pete will hit 50 or more for sure this year!
better hope 2019 was for real and 2020 was a fluke
2020 wasn’t too bad for a sophomore jinx. He still hit 16 homers and had an OPS over 800.
Yeah, 40-homer pace isn’t really a sophomore slump, is it?
Not so much the jinx but the loss of the juiced ball, IMO. Without a juiced ball in ’19 he hits 45. Still a big year but not record-setting. That’s baseball with Manfred.
It’s less about the homer total and more about Ks, not hittibg with RISP…etc. Alonso was a freak in 2019. Alonso was a typical power hitter in 2020
He was still on pace for about 100 RBI’s… sure his numbers were not as impressive as 2019 but they were far from alarming like some of you want it to appear
I mean there were stretches were he was awful, but he evened out overall.
In yankee stadium he hits 60. Stop…
MetsFan22:
Seriously? Maybe heed your own advice and stop. You’re looking like a baseball neophyte.
In the entire history of baseball only 5 players have hit 60 HRs in a season, and 3 of those were during the steroid era. The other 2 guys played their home games in Yankee Stadium, and both were lefties, which Alonso is not. Alonso is a talented, powerful hitter. But 60 is way, way harder than you seem to think it is. I’d lay money against it in a heartbeat.
He hit 53….. I’m sure he would have hit 7 more or at least get close to it…
lol omg
lolz-
I mean… I mean…
I mean I’m Just sittin’ on the Group W bench…
Arlo Guthrie
MetsFan22
Juiced ball increased HR’s by 10-20%. Without the juiced ball Alonso hits 44-48 HRs, not 53. There goes the record. Stop.
I don’t think anyone should be taking 2020 stats serious.
yes and no i think they should be taken with a grain of salt baseball is a long season and last year was just 2+ months hard to get a good take on a player when you only play a 1/6th of a season
We’re signing Lester not Doolittle 🙂
Barkerboy:
Where is this belief coming from? Some hitters see certain pitchers well and tee off whenever they see that pitcher. I thought that must be the case here, but it isn’t. Alonso has never hit a single HR off Lester. Wilmer Flores is the guy having hit more off Lester than any other Met. Too bad he’s not a Met anymore.
Plus, even if Alonso does tee off on Lester, how many ABs do you think he’s going to get against him? Over his career Alonso is 0 for 3 with 1 BB, and 1 SO against Lester. Dave Martinez will not let Lester pitch to Alonso much it it does appear he’s got Lester’s number. I wouldn’t count on 50 based on Lester signing with the Nat’s.
@tad, you’re far too logical. You and @mets22 speak two different languages!
Red Sox should pick him up for a final farewell.
Not just for sentiment either. Bloom just isn’t making moves to try and contend by filling actual holes in the roster/lineup.
At least a lester return gives SOMETHING to the fans. Plop him in the #5 slot and be done with it.
Gotta agree there. If you’re not going to go for it (obviously they’re not) some human interest works. Lester’s post-cancer no hitter (complete with Tito crying his eyes out) was one of the great Sox moments.
Until he hosed Tito with Lackey and their chicken and beer. That did it for me. Really don’t want him back. He can sit on the DL for another team in 2021.
Agreed. Lester never should have left Boston, but Henry made that call. What is going on in Boston? Martin Perez, the definition of a place holder, can come back, but not Lester? Disappointing mediocrity remains.
We don’t need more beer and chicken in Boston. He was part of what lead to Tito’s firing.
Sadly, ownership then was done with Tito and they would have found other reasons. It amazes me that during their time running the team, they’re brought championships to Boston yet I truly despise them.
Looie – my first 33 years as a fan the Red Sox always came up short. In 1974 the RS led by 7 games Sept 1 and ended up 7 back at season’s end. In 1975 they led 3-0 in game 7 of WS and lost only to loose to the Reds. In 1986 the RS led by 2 runs against the Mets in game 6 of the WS needing only one out to win the WS. Bruce Hurst had already been named WS MVP and would have been the winning pitch in game 6 (and would have been the winning pitch in 3 WS games), then all hell breaks loose and they loose game 6 and 7……
Henry and Co. have won 4 WS in 18 years (21 of 30 mlb franchises do not even have 4 WS wins in their entire existence!). No matter what Henry and the FO does I am grateful for their success, and I personally am willing to give them slack even though many are not.
Everyone on this site is free to have their own opinion…
Damn! Baseball historian, step up to the PLATE! Not being sarcastic, that was an informative post. Good read.
Thanks Yaz. I just hate what they did to Yawkey’s memory, trying to re-write history. The man grew up basically in a different world and using a Ben Franklin piece of paper drawing a line down the middle, his benefits to society on the left side far out-weighed the negatives on the right. I keep going back to how he literally saved the Sox in Boston and basically put the Jimmy Fund on the sports map. I have an amazing tribute video to Yaz which has a clip about Yaz’s love for Tom Yawkey. I suppose next ownership will consider taking down that number 8 and replace it with a 24. Not for Evans but for Ramirez. This ownership lies in bed with cheaters like Manny and their current manager. The Red Sox uniform should mean more than that.
I agree. The Sox have as many rings in my lifetime as my daughter’s. I don’t take that for granted. They have done an amazing job. While doing that, they have turned many fans into spoiled, obnoxious whiners.
I had guesses he would reunite with Joe in LA.
Me too. The Angels rotation has nothing of note. Not even gonna count Ohtani anymore. Lester could’ve signed with LAA and immediately been the staff ace. I’m kind of shocked he didn’t go to the Braves or Rangers or Marlins.
“In talks”
This IS a rumor site.
The Blue Jays were second in the bidding!!
Again!
So that the Nats sign Jon Lester as a depth piece while the Cubs ink Shelby Miller. This nicely sums up the difference between owner Mark Lerner and Tom Ricketts.
First manager Dave Martinez, then bullpen coach Henry Blanco and pitching coach Jim Hickey. Last winter Nats GM and native Chicagoan Mike Rizzo signed Starlin Castro. This offseason he’s added Kyle Schwarber and apparently Jon Lester. Who’s next on the Rizzo hit parade? Anthony, Kris Bryant or Willson Contreras?
It’s not as if Rizzo is just singling out Cubs either. White Sox fans have been sending him Christmas cards every December since 2016 for the Adam Eaton trade that netted their beloved team ace Lucas Giolito and two other MLB pitchers. Now ‘Spanky’ is back in RF looking to add another ring to his collection on the southside of Chicago!
As a Nats fan I wish Lucas was on the team but If I were to go back in time I would do the trade again %100. Dumb people say he didnt help lead us to WS and help us win….HE DID. I wish him the best of luck and Rizzo probably just trashes the cards with happiness knowing he has a WS
Flags fly forever.
Also pitchers in his spot trnd not to magically start throwing strikes. Credit to him, he did and I’m happy for him.
If the NL adopts the DH,Rizzo might go after Rizzo next!
AaronSapoznick, you’re welcome. And btw, Adam Eaton was arguably the 2nd most potent hitter in the WS for The Nats. No Eaton probably means no rings for Nats. Thank you for donating his services. Hope you’ve been enjoying the greeting cards that Nats fans have been sending. Flags fly forever, etc and so on.
They’ve already been in on KB. Trying to work out a trade. Then again, back in the day the Cubs and Expos frequently swapped players. Andre Dawson, Dave Martinez, Henry Rodriguez, Michael Barrett, Mark Grudzielanek, Lee Smith, etc.
Shelby Miller probably has more left in the tank than Lester, and there is certainly more upside. Not expecting much out of Miller, but signing old players thinking they can someone return to glory sounds like something Rick Hahn would do, quite frankly.
Lester has been washed for years. Rather try and catch lightning in a bottle with Miller than pay Lester to be mediocre.
Cubs fans talk to me, I know he’s obviously not the same but is he still decent? All we need is a #4 to eat some innings and have an era somewhere in the 4’s and I’ll be okay with it
He’s like the little girl with the curl now.
He looked completely washed-up towards the end of last season. His stuff was lifeless.
Hard to judge these guys stuff in empty stadiums imo. Even Scherzer looked very average in ‘20.
You asked
“Last year” was 60 games in an unusual environment. I don’t take much stock in mostly any player’s performance. My questions are about the arm and head. If both are healthy, Lester can be on my staff behind their big three.
He pitches every 5th day rain or shine and you will get plenty of quality starts the first 2 1/2 months of the season
Amazingly clockworklike. Look at his start numbers by seasons. Wind him up, he gives you what he’s got. Or what’s left. Here’s an idea:
A midseason siesta each year might have made this guy a postseason HOFer. Offbeat ways of preventing fatigue and overwork in a top talent is no dumber than the closer trend. Send away Tatis Jr for example. Just for 7-10 days. A week at Camp Runamuck making gimp keychains keeps one off the IL and fresh for October Baseball. Can’t prove it doesn’t.
He should be a serviceable #4-#5 not the #2-#3 he had been the pre 2020 season.
Still be a solid back end guy, he will eat innings and keep your team in ballgames. He is prone to get shelled big time a couple starts per year but overall he will make all his starts and will be happy with him if you keep the proper expectations.
One guarantee, he is not going to crumble is high leverage games.
Honestly I like Arrieta as a #4-5 hope he Phillies can keep him
I guess you need to look at the Nats schedule—if you don’t play the White Sox he’s perfectly fine. I know you can’t but if you take out his starts against the Sox last season he was 3-1 last year with a 3.35 ERA.
He’ll give you every thing you want for 85-90 pitches. You can do worse for a 4th or 5th starter.
Look at how long his starts have been the last two seasons.
He’s around 40 pitches after two, as often as not.
Lester is fine as long as you yank him by the 5th. In reality tho, he’s better suited as a long man similar to Bartolo at this point. 2-3 innings and they’re done. The lifeless-ness begins.
Good pickup for the Nats. In Washington Lester would be the 4th starter behind Scherzer, Strasburg, and Corbin so its not as if he would have to be the ace of the staff. Was hoping for a return to Boston but it wasn’t meant to be i guess
Can you imagine what it must feel like to get $10M just to walk away? The concept is like a fantasy for most people, but it has become pretty regular in these contracts. Like Monopoly money. Good on them if they can get it!
But when it was $26M to stay—even someone at that level will miss $16M.
He signed for $155 million for five years. I think he’s doing OK.
kripes-brewers:
That’s a pejorative way to look at it. They weren’t paying him to go away like they were that desperate to get rid of him that they had to pay him $10M. It was a choice of paying him that $10M to buy out the contract, or pay him $25.8M to pitch. Word was the Cubs were interested in re-signing him at a lesser amount.
I get it. But you’ve got a team like the Cubs, who at this point are obviously pinching pennies. It’s gotta hurt to hand a dude $10M to go away. It’s part of the overall contract, so divide it up between the years he pitched (and yes they have the ring) – still $10M! It’s gotta smart!
It was a $15.8M decision. You have to bake any buyouts in to the cost of the guaranteed portion of his contract. That’s how the math guys look at it.
I’m sure the Cubs are hoping that the city/state lets fans in before May 18. Lester and Schwarber will be warmly greeted back. Especially Jon who didn’t get a proper send off.
Hopefully this is meant to be more of a depth piece and hes not being automatically penciled in as SP4. At this point in his career he doesnt really seem like an upgrade over Ross/Fedde/Voth.
or maybe this means they are planning to trade 1 or more of those guys?
could be wrong, but I dont think Fedde Voth or Ross have options at this point. seems like a bit of a roster crunch.
He KNOWS how to pitch, the 3 are still learning big time.
Could do a lot worse as your No 4/5 starter.
Did his brother Lon Jester get signed as well?
If Jon Lester signed with your squad for a decent amount and is your #5 starter, you take it. The best case scenario is he improves enough to be your #4 and potential comes though (again) in a pivotal start or two in the postseason. Lester is an overlooked big game pitcher.
Go Jays Go!!
Less than 2% of entries (76/4268) in the MLBTR free agent prediction contest had Lester going to the Nationals.
Many more had predicted the Cubs (1106) or Boston (986).
No one knows anything.
Well based on the number of F grades the DJL and Kluber signings poll received, I wouldn’t put much faith in that data.
smh get it right
Uh oh… Jeff Passan and Bob Nightengale battling it out to see whose information is more reliable! Is there an option or not? Passan might have to read one of his many leatherbound books he has in every shot of him to learn a few things if he’s off on this one. He always looks like he’s hiding something.
Passan is a muck raker who trolls Twitter for his scoops. He’s the definition of ‘Fake News’.
Lester is either done or he shows us he still has something in the tank.
Your are 100 percent correct.
Lol, that’s like saying “he either will or won’t break camp with the Nats”. Okay… back to u in the news room Tom. haha
I concur with the others who claim that Lester returning to Boston makes more sense than signing Martin Perez again.
Unfortunately, yet another middle finger to Sox fans everywhere by bloom.
pwndroia, GASoxFan:
It wasn’t entirely up to the RS whether to sign Lester or not. Whose to know if they did try or not? Maybe he just liked the idea of signing with the Nat’s better than going back to the Sox? It is closer to his home in GA.
When a FA signs we almost never get to see what teams offered what. I don’t understand some fans assumption when a player signs with a different than theirs, that their team didn’t even try.
I tried to talk myself into Lester, but just couldn’t. He was bad last year, he is 37 year’s old, and I’d prefer to remember how he was in 2007, and 2013. Watching him get lit up by the NYY would be sad.
I don’t think he was bad. Just a average back end starter. Think he can be that again this season and have better results.
Bad signing, he’s finished.
The Nats would of been better off signing Hamels to a one year deal.
Kluber, Lester, Smyly, and Morton taking one year “show me” deals. The changing of the guard once Scherzer, Verlander, and Greinke do the same.
To think all those guys constantly fighting for the Cy Young year in year out will be gone.
…it joke
Lester should’ve won in 16. Period. He deserved it. Unfortunately that ship has sailed. Even if he’s excellent in DC this year, at best he’s to the Nats what Cole Hamels was to the Cubs.
Starting pitcher market drying up fast. Kluber, Musgrove, and Lester gone and Tanaka possibly returning to Japan. Wish I was Trevor Bauer’s agent!!
Trout still wishing for Bauer as a belated Christmas gift
I wouldn’t mind being his agent but don’t see how these trades signings help his market.
Weather he’s done or he’s got sometihnibg left on the tank this could have been a low cost hight reward for the bosox.
Interesting partnership. I was thinking he’d go back to Boston
He can go back to Boston next year
The future of my rumor followship is on the table. Shall I forever take the word of Jeff Passan? Or begrudgingly saddle up next to Mr Nightengale for life? I all lies on this unverified mutual option.
(And now I verbally describe the GIF where Holly is helping Kevin who’s having trouble deciding between pretzels.. or chips)
Hmm..
Nightengale has such a poor history with his tweets being factual. Just don’t believe a lot of what he says.
that is a good signing.
that is *not* a good signing. fixed it for ya!
Lester is a “good fit”. Fixed it for you Moneybags.
I may be blinded by my respect for the man, but I just don’t believe that Jon Lester is finished. I firmly think there is still something in that tank. Look, he hasn’t really relied on pure “stuff” the last couple of years – he has the things that can’t be quantified…things the advanced metrics can’t calculate… he is a winner, pure and simple. And he still has that fire and I do think he is motivated to show baseball that he isn’t done. Now, I’m not suggesting that he ought to dust off more shelf space for another Cy Young award, but I think he can be league average or a bit better and then turn it on down the stretch and in the playoffs, if the Nats make it.
Have you seen him pitch the last few years? That tells a different story. Also he only got 5mil, kind of a scathing reward for pitching poorly.
And have you seen Voth or Fedde pitch? The guys Lester is replacing? What upside do they have that is better than Lester’s, and who else should Washington have signed that was demonstrably better than Lester within his salary range?
Their window is closing. You cant have Fedde, Voth, or Ross as your #4 and #5 starters. Enter Lester.
Ross will be 5th and our new pitching coach will help Ross add a changeup to help him hopefully.
The Washington Nationcubs — One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!
The Chicashingtreal Excubonals. You don’t even have to change the team colors. I LIKE IT!
Great rotation on paper!
Yeah… if you’re playing MLB: The Show 17.
Wow. What a total waste of money. Now back to talking about the dickpics guy
Emptying Recycle Bin
Welcome aboard Jon!
> let’s see first one is “a waste of Money…”
Lester is coming in at about projected value as per MLBTR. His real world value wont be know till the season is mostly done. which brings me to…
> “he’s Done
Lester is at about the same place that Anibal was when he signed. let’s also keep in mind he is a 4 or 5 slot pitcher on this team.\
> Innings eater
Lester has been an innings gobbler his whole career. You wont see a boatload of shutouts but most games he will keep the Nats in the game.
Wow, 5 mil is all it took? Well done Nats, well done
What’s the point of closing the comment in other article? People will just post their opinion here anyway.
Surprised that the Nats took him. Seems to me that he’d be better off with a team of younger pitchers who can learn from him. On the other hand, maybe he’s best with an experienced rotation where he only needs to be the #5 starter and pitch on his day. No drama.
His understats didn’t change from 2019 to 2020 and advanced metrics say the latter was more telling. Not buying a rebound
He could. Im a Nats fan so easy for me to say, but as a 4th starter if he get a sub 4.5 era and 150 plus innings thats a dub. Especially with Rutledge coming up.
Rooting for Lester. Plus DC gets a HUGE upgrade tomorrow.
Postseason ERA of 2.51, the man is a competitor. He may have another adjustment to get himself back on track for success. He’s knocking on the door. If he succeeds in Washington his next stop is Cooperstown.
As a RS fan, I am rooting hard for him to get the 7 wins he needs for 200.
Remember when Franco Harris needed 2 yards and tried for many games to get them 2 yards, loosing yardage every play… He may get 1 win if he plays the Pirates…
OK, 170 yards in 8 games, 192 yards short of Jim Brown’s record. Still, this is crazy.
Voth + Fedde + Ross < Lester.
Voth & Fedde had their shots at keeping their spots in the 2021 rotation but they blew it last season. It was painful watching them.
Lester's on a 1 year $5 million low risk deal. Good move by Rizzo.
Fedde was decent, but yeah great points. Lester is a good 4 for us
It was painful. At this point, honestly, Fedde is what he is. He is well past the prospect point. He could be effective in the pen, maybe.
Pretty solid pickup considering he’ll be an end of the rotation guy that can definitely give them some innings.
Nats are making good moves this off-season. Add Suarez at 3b (I hope not because I’m a Redlegs fan), as the rumors provide, and they will be a force.
I’ll do it for $2mil. I tried throwing a ball for the first time in 20 years the other day and it still has some pop…
As a Cub fan… it’s just gonna be weird seeing all these guys in different jerseys next year. It was a helluva run. All the best Jon, Kerry Wood will always be #34, but you took a chance on us in 15, and became a forever Cub. All the best.
Great competitor and if his slider is working on the right handers he is killer. Not sure what he has left, but I tip my cap to as a Sox fan, and wish him the best!
I like wong and porcello for the Nats.
Lester @ 1/5 > G Richards @ 1/10
“Lester spent the previous six seasons in Chicago, where he largely lived up to the $155MM deal he signed before 2015”
…He put up 13.2 bWAR over 6 seasons
Are the Nats the best rotation in MLB this season?
Only if they stay healthy. They are still good but aging.