While most of the world was sleeping, Theo Epstein and his staff were hard at work. The Chicago Cubs have landed their number one target as they have signed Jon Lester to a six-year-deal worth $155 million. There is also a vesting option for a seventh year that could bring Lester’s total in the contract to $170 million. This is the largest contract in the history of the Cubs.
The deal was announced at the very early hours of Wednesday morning. The Cubs were able to outlast the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and most notably Boston Red Sox in the sweepstakes for Lester, who now becomes the team’s clear ace pitcher.
The Cubs have a roster loaded with young, cost-controlled talent, allowing them the payroll flexibility to land a big fish like Lester. Led by Anthony Rizzo, Starlin Castro, Jorge Soler, Javier Baez and soon to be Kris Bryant, the Cubs have an incredible amount of offensive upside at the major league level. Lester brings extreme stability to the starting rotation, as they look to quickly become a force to be reckoned with in the National League.
At 31-years-old, Lester is not exactly smack dab in the middle of his prime years. A long term contract for this kind of money is always risky, especially for a pitcher. Arm injuries are simply part of the pitching profession, and it can practically happen at any time. That being said, while he has logged a fair amount of innings throughout his career, Lester is generally considered a pitcher who will age well.
The Cubs have already landed starting pitcher Jason Hammel and catcher Miguel Montero this week to go along with Lester, and reports have surfaced that the team is in the market for a big bat. Only time will tell what they do for the rest of the Winter Meetings and off-season in general, but one thing is for sure; the Chicago Cubs are building to win now.