The Boston Red Sox have checked in on Jon Lester and Pablo Sandoval in free agency this offseason and they are the top free agent targets for the team while the franchise also will consider a Yoenis Cespedes trade, as he could net a nice package and teams like the Seattle Mariners, NY Yankees, Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Orioles and Dodgers all could be interested in making a move.
The Red Sox reportedly have an offer on the table for Lester and this comes after the team traded Lester for Cespedes this summer in a deal to the Oakland Athletics. According to ESPN.com and Hardball Talk, Gordon Edes is reporting that the Red Sox have a long term offer presented to Lester and that is a significant deal. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe added later the terms of the deal, reporting that it is between $110 million and $120 million and is likely over six years.
The Red Sox traded Lester after not being able to come to an agreement with him on an extension, but both sides said they would be willing to talk again in free agency in the offseason. The Red Sox had a terrible year, but they feel they are ready to bounce back and adding Lester back along with Pablo Sandoval could be huge if they want to get back to the playoffs. The team has money to spend and while they don't want to go crazy, these two deals could be manageable for the franchise.
Sandoval has long been considered a target for the Red Sox, as they had major third base issues last season. The Giants obviously want to keep Sandoval, but the Red Sox appear to be frontrunners and this comes as the Blue Jays also have interest. The Giants have made an offer of five years, $90 million according to Hardball Talk and the report from KPIX in San Fran says that it's very unlikely that Sandoval returns.
The Blue Jays signed Russell Martin and are looking to push up in the AL East, while the Red Sox see themselves as a bounce back team in the same way they were when they won the World Series two years ago. The Lester deal is interesting, as the Red Sox did not want to sign Lester to a crazy long contract extension, but now at six years they could be going back on that a bit. Lester has also received attention from the Chicago Bubs and there is a chance that he could sign there with the connections to Theo Epstein.
Lester is coming off of his best season and he won 16 games and put up an ERA of 2.46 and now he is expecting to sign a major deal. Some reports before the offseason had Lester looking at least $140 million, which would likely keep the Red Sox out. The team will still pursue Lester, but there is a better chance that they sign Sandoval. One advantage for Lester is that he was traded and does not have draft pick compensation attached to him.