Nationals left-hander Jon Lester will undergo surgery to have his thyroid gland removed on Friday, manager Dave Martinez announced today (link via Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). Assuming all goes well, the surgery is only expected to keep him out of action for roughly a week’s time, the manager added.
The 37-year-old Lester has been dealing with fatigue early in camp. After some consultations with medical experts and a slate of tests, he opted to have the surgery this week with the hope that it’ll prevent further symptoms during the 2021 season. He’s traveling to New York today.
Lester signed a one-year, $5MM deal with the Nationals over the winter, setting the stage for him to slide into the rotation behind Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin. The contract reunites him with Martinez, who was his bench coach in Chicago from 2015-17, and with fellow free-agent signee Kyle Schwarber.
Back in 2006, during his rookie year with the Red Sox, Lester was diagnosed with lymphoma and was away for nearly a year while undergoing chemotherapy. Since going into remission and returning to the mound, he’s been among the game’s most durable starters. The five-time All-Star made at least 31 starts per season over a 12-year period from 2008-19, averaging 199 innings per season. Along the way, he also kicked in 144 2/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball in the postseason and took home NLCS MVP honors in 2016. During last year’s shortened season, he started a dozen games.
While Lester isn’t the ace he was at his peak, his status as one of the game’s most reliable sources of innings makes him plenty appealing for a Nationals club that needed a steady presence behind an established top three. Lester struggled to a 5.16 ERA last summer, but he also posted his lowest walk percentage and highest ground-ball rate since 2015. A clearer schedule for the lefty will be known after the procedure, but the early projection that he could be back to work after just a week obviously bodes well for both Lester and the Nats.
No mention of Aaron Boone getting surgery today?
What happened to Boone?
Boone is having a pacemaker implanted.
Oh, okay. Hope he has a speedy recovery,
Good luck Jon Lester! Hope the procedure and recovery goes well!!
There’s an entire article on Aaron Boone’s surgery. However, this particular article is about Jon Lester.
The keen observer might have noticed that the comment preceded the posting of the Boone article.
They should’ve probably been patient instead of assuming an article wasn’t going to be written about Boone. The announcements of both surgeries came out the same day. The article about Boone came out 20 minutes after this comment was made.
All the best to Jon Lester, hope he has a fast recovery.
Probably means going on meds the rest of his life. Thyroid is crazy, and can causes major issues in terms of metabolism and normal bodily functions. My gfs best friend had hypothyroidism and couldn’t maintain weight and was tired all the time. Get well Jon
On the plus side, it’s one of the organs you can live without. The challenge can be dialing in the meds. Hopefully all goes well for him.
Agreed, meds for the rest of his life and hopefully the proper dosage will allow him to function in somewhat normalcy….lots of complications when the meds don’t do the job….wonder why removing the gland was an obvious choice…..here’s hoping he recovers and resume a normal life.
My thyroid quit working about 5 years ago. It definitely makes you work harder and affects MANY different parts of your body. Fortunately as others have pointed out, you can live without it with meds. Hope he recovers well.
Boone getting a pacemaker at 47 yo.
Boone is so young getting a pacemaker at 47. I can’t even imagine.
Rough stuff. A high-stress job with lots of travel. I think he’s a good manager but gotta wonder if a return to the broadcast booth might be a reasonable move.
I don’t know. Too much exposure to John Sterling would be pretty stressful.
Sterling turns 83 on July 4. He’s been calling Yankees game since ’89. That’s a lot of years of awfulness.
The Grandyman caaaaaaan!! Admit it, we’ll miss him when he hangs it up
Most of them live long lives.
you make a good point cey job of a mlb manger puts a lot on you gotta manage the ego’s of the players, the media and fan. after all that prepare for the game. wish both boone and lester a speedy recovery.
I believe he already had some kind of heart problem back in 2009 when he was 36.
Health problems (especially cancer) has no mercy at any age!
Having a pacemaker put in is so routine these days… Still, prayers to him and his family!
hope that helps as is expected for him
Frank Thomas (shrugging): Have you tried Nugenix?
This sounds kind of rare. Have any other players undergone this procedure in recent memory?
Haven’t heard much about thyroid surgery in MLB. Just thigh ‘roids in the locker room.
@baseballpun
When I read your comment I just about spit coffee all over my phone. That’s one of the funniest things I’ve read in a while. Lol well done sir!
Tatsumaki…This may be the first time I agree with you! Having the true master gland removed will require meds the rest of his life and affect energy level and weight control, among several other health-related issues.
Totally of subject but as for Cubs pitchers I really believe Davies will out pitch both Darvish as well as Lester. I thank Lester for all he did for the Cubbies. Thought it was a bad move for 6 yrs but he definitely earned every penny. Hope the best for Lester
Cubfan, Davies is a big reason why I think the Cubs will win that division. People are overlooking how good he is. I’ve always enjoyed watching him pitch.
Davies gets overlooked pitching on the West Coast, for sure.
@cey who do the cubs have to start other than hendriks they have bats but what good is having bats if you can’t pitch. i think stl and mil has a better chance of the nlc than the cubs.
@cubfan signing lester and mote “were bad deals” but what they did for the cubs is break a losing culture. when the cubs signed lester for most teams in the mlb it was an overpay but for the cubs he was a bargain. at the time what the cubs needed was guys that were winners and not afraid to call guys out.
Lester yes, Darvish? That is the dumbish thing I’ve ever heard!
i can’t blame the cubs for yu at the time he signed i kinda wanted on the birds glad we didn’t get him.
As a lifelong North Sider, Jon holds a special place with us and always will. The most important free agent signing in team history. Here’s hoping the surgery goes well, and I hope he continues to stay cancer free.
Jon Lester is a bad a$$. Good luck Bone Chips and hope you are back on the mound soon
He was the first big name free agent to join the Theo made Cubs. He brought legitimacy to the rebuild. Will never forget being at game 7.
Red Sox fans feel the same way. His no-hitter, post chemo, was completely unforgettable.
(I myself was fine until Tito came out of the dugout bawling his eyes out. Hard not to get emotional at a scene like that).
hard not to get emotional after a story like that (until recently i didn’t know lester had cancer) all that aside the cubs should of resigned him. yes lester is a shell of himself but he is one of the aging players you keep around. the guy is mentor and a gamer plus cubs need a guy that can give them innings. just like wanio lester knows his playing days are coming to an end and will leave his arm out on the mound if it can get him a chance at another ring. anyhow wish lester best of luck next season and also speedy recovery
A lifelong northsider? I guess the first 10 years of his career don’t count
J-Les . . . nice career numbers, proven to be a great pitcher, strong competitor, good guy off the field, stays out of the negative headlines….Best of luck and hope this is just “protective measure”….
It’s bad health day in MLB between Lester and Boone. Fortunately, booth look quite recoverable.
Indeed, though Lester’s surgery has far more long-term ramifications.
His biggest accomplishment with the RS is that he was the one to finally get rid of Lucciano.
After telling the FO that they’d have to tear the jersey off his back, and saying all he wanted was to get a Bailey contract, LL went out of his way to insult him. At least LL made it easy for him to leave.
Good luck my friend. I’m hoping to see you get #200 this year, to get at least a few votes for the HOF.
Having the true “master” gland removed is a big thing, hopefully the medications he will have to be on for the rest of his life doesn’t adversely affect his ability to pitch successfully.
This might be the best thing for his career. The thyroid doesn’t go bad overnight. It’s probably been declining for quite some time, and he probably thought it was just general fatigue or weakness and tried to push through it. He will go on some form of synthetic hormone replacement. It may take some time for them to figure out the proper dosage, but once they do he will likely feel much better. His career may rebound significantly from this.
it could be but i think lester decline has to do with his bulldog like mentality and the fact he has a lot of miles on that arm. either way wish the man speedy recovery and a good season.
Maybe it will cure him of the yips when throwing to a base other than home plate.
I believe he already had some kind of heart problem back in 2009 when he was 36.
Health problems (especially cancer) knows no mercy at any age!
The good thing is, having a pacemaker put in is so routine these days…
Still, prayers to him and his family!
4th place Nationals
Stay classy, lolmets fans.
Sox should have brought Lester back for 2021. I think he would have been a great influence on Eduardo Rodriguez – similar styles. But, the Sox signed the excruciatingly average Martin Perez, instead. Best of luck, Jon – class act.
Actually quite common. Since my wife had it out, we have met many other people who have as well. Take a pill every day. It’s nowhere near the cancer that Lester had nor the brain tumor that my wife had. He won’t miss a beat on this one, hope he’s got something left in the tank. Only want to see him do well!
This is one of the key under the radar signings this year [BTW welcome aboard Mr. Lester].
While the news of an operation is always a bit stressful for us fantasy owners [not to mention the players] this looks like a small road bump.. I await the confirmation for the doctors.. but I am actually expecting the best
Timing wise this is about as good as it gets in camp. As a fourth starter we can actually do without him a week or two into the season. so no worries… yet