Sox Extend Lester

Jon Lester was extended on a team option for 2014. No brainer, right? Lester did emerge as that #1 ace of staff over the final 2 months of September & October. The hard part will be to work out a long-term extension before he hits free agency. Most of these deals don't work out too well for the team. If Lester gets a 3 or 4 year deal, I think the Sox can live with that. If they offer him 5 or more, you are just asking for trouble. Maybe Ben can offer more dollars per year in return for a shorter number of years. The Sox definitely want to keep Jon Lester in a Red Sox uniform for the medium term. You can expect a lot of negotiating over the next year.