So far none of the coveted free-agent starting pitchers have been signed this offseason. The Chicago Cubs are expected to make a big push for one of them and it seems as if Jon Lester is that guy, but the team was also tied to potential trade talks regarding Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies.
According to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington met with Lester's representatives "for an extended period of time" on Tuesday night during the General Managers' Meetings in Phoenix, Arizona. It was speculated he could make a return to his former team, but right now he'll continue his free agency tour and meet with the Cubs at some point next week. Lester has past relations with Cubs' team president Theo Epstein, who worked for Boston when he pitched there.
Lester is drawing a lot of interest this offseason being that he's a left-handed ace with impressive career numbers (116-67 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.28 WHIP) throughout his nine MLB seasons, but he's expected to land a contract in excess of $100 million, so the competition is among only a few teams. The Cubs have been viewed as one of those teams for months now, but they've been having talks with the Phillies about left-hander Cole Hamels, who has four years and $96 million remaining on his contract. Philadelphia wants three top prospects in return for Hamels, which has many hesitating to make a deal. However, now that it appears Hamels may want to be traded, it could be a different story.
"He was neutral when I talked to him,'' Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro told USA Today. "Happy to go. I think he wants to win, but he signed his contract, and he plans on honoring the contract, obviously.''
"He won't demand a trade, or even complain, but four years ago when he signed his extension, he believed the Phillies would be a perennial power for the life of the contract," wrote Bob Nightengale.
So if Hamels wants out and Amaro knows the left-hander doesn't want to stay with a rebuilding Phillies team, could the asking price for Hamels go down? And if it does, will the Cubs still look to sign Lester, another left-hander? Chicago has plenty of young talent they can offer Philadelphia, which could expedite the Phillies' rebuilding process, but the fact the Cubs will have to surrender talent AND pay Hamels' $96 million contract isn't too appealing, unless the price is right.
This has led the Cubs to (allegedly) start speaking with the Washington Nationals about acquiring starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann in a trade. The right-handed Zimmerman is owed $16.5 million in 2015 before he becomes a free agent in 2016. If the talks are true, the Cubs likely think it's more worthwhile to trade fewer players to get Zimmermann and work to sign him to an extension (he'll be 29 next season while Hamels will be 31). A lefty-righty combo of Lester and Zimmermann is something any team would love to have.
But now at this point, it's all up in the air because the story has changed with Hamels. The report that they're pursing Zimmermann might not be true, but regardless they're going to need a solid right arm in the starting rotation. It appears they're preparing to trade for a starter and also sign one in free agency, and based on the trade talks it seems they're looking for any combination of a left-hander and right-hander. For example, if they trade for Zimmermann, they can sign Lester, whereas if they trade for Hamels, they can work to sign either Max Scherzer or James Shields (both right-handers) in free agency. Additionally, I'm sure they'd be OK with trading for Hamels and signing Lester, or trading for Zimmermann and signing either Scherzer or Shields.
The Cubs recently signed manager Joe Maddon to a five-year deal, which is also expected to help draw talent to the team this offseason. At this point, the only thing that's true is Lester will be meeting with the Cubs next week.
