Jon Lester had an incredible postseason for the Boston Red Sox. With one year left on his contract he repeatedly said that he wanted to stay with the team and would be willing to take a discount. Having not reached an agreement, many people are saying that the Red Sox are trying to lowball him with a 4 year $70 million deal. I disagree with the masses and think the offer is a great starting point.
While he's not an ace, the Red Sox initial offer would pay him like one. According to Spotrac, a starting pitcher averaging $17.5 million would be tied for 11th in the MLB for starting pitchers' salary next season. Again, this was a starting point for negotiations. Seeing that Lester isn't one of the top 11 pitchers in the MLB, this offer is in reality a great starting point. even without taking into consideration Lester's hometown discount comments.
In my opinion, Lester's hometown discount comments were actually a very calculated comment. He came right out in the open and used the media to try and help him get a contract. It's amazing how much grief Ortiz got from the media for wanting to add a year to his contract while Lester is getting full support from the media every hour on the hour.
In my opinion, Lester's hometown discount comments were actually a very calculated comment. He came right out in the open and used the media to try and help him get a contract. It's amazing how much grief Ortiz got from the media for wanting to add a year to his contract while Lester is getting full support from the media every hour on the hour.
To show that Lester isn't an ace I've put together some statistics which show that he is a good starting pitcher. His strength has been his durability, but his ability to throw a lot of innings doesn't suddenly make him an ace.
JON LESTER'S 2012 AND 2013 SEASON STATISTICAL RANKING
The above table shows how Lester compares to the other pitchers in the league. Looking at these numbers, I have a really hard time considering him an ace. Below you will see some statistics which compare him to other players on the Red Sox staff. The first is a comparison of how each of last year's starting pitchers fared against lefties. Comparing him to the only other lefty starter, there isn't much of a difference. Of all the pitchers he actually has the worst slugging percentage of all of them.
2013 RED SOX STARTING PITCHERS VS. LEFTIES (REGULAR SEASON)
Looking at the Red Sox starters for the past three years, Lester is once again very consistent and durable. While those are great characteristics, they don't necessarily mean you are an ace. If the Red Sox want to reward him for consistently starting 30 games, I won't argue with that. However, throwing $20 million per year at him for 5+ years is too extreme.
While he hasn't put up as good of numbers as Lester, Felix Doubront has been comparable the last two seasons. Doubront is making a whopping $586,000 this year compared to Lester's $13 million. Based on his numbers and comparable players, Lester should be thrilled with contract negotiations starting at over $17 million per year.
While he hasn't put up as good of numbers as Lester, Felix Doubront has been comparable the last two seasons. Doubront is making a whopping $586,000 this year compared to Lester's $13 million. Based on his numbers and comparable players, Lester should be thrilled with contract negotiations starting at over $17 million per year.
RED SOX STARTING PITCHING STATISTICS 2011-2013
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