The finalists for the Jon Lester sweepstakes include the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants. On Wednesday it was revealed a fourth team has also entered the mix with a bid of their own, but it's unclear who it is.
Although the Atlanta Braves were originally in the mix for Lester, the team opted not to pursue him any further to avoid getting involved in the bidding war, according to David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The price for the left-hander has already reached $138 million with the Chicago Cubs' offer and many believe it could reach $150 million or higher.
Now that the money is reaching great heights, that likely means the final bid for Lester was put forth by a big market team. The New York Yankees are a possibility, but they have so many other issues to tend to that it would be fairly surprising. How about the Los Angeles Dodgers? Multiple sources told Rob Bradford and Alex Speier of WEEI.com that the Dodgers are planning to make a late push for Lester, with one source saying they have already made an offer and others believing the team is waiting for the final bids to be submitted.
The Dodgers revamped their front office this offseason and added Andrew Friedman, Farhan Zaidi and Josh Byrnes, all of whom have experience with small market organizations. It's apparent the Dodgers' ownership wants to invest their money more responsibly after having the largest payroll in baseball over the past two seasons only to fall short of the World Series. So why would they want to chase Lester if he's going to cost all that money?
"According to major-league sources, a growing concern within the Dodgers' organization that Zack Greinke could opt out of his contract next winter may lead to the team making the right-hander available in trade talks in order to free up a rotation spot for a pitcher like Lester, James Shields or Max Scherzer," writes Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish.
Greinke is currently under a six-year, $147 million deal, but can opt out after the 2015 season and search for another contract before it's too late in his career. He'll be 32 when he's eligible to opt out, which makes more sense for him financially because he probably won't be landing any lucrative deals when he's 35 years old (when his current contract were to end if he didn't opt out.)
Signing Lester would serve as an insurance plan as well as a solid investment for Los Angeles. If Greinke opts out, then their top three starters would be Lester, Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu. If Greinke stays, they will have the best rotation in baseball without question.
As the speculation heats up prior to the MLB Winter Meetings, which start in three days, signs point to the Dodgers being the fourth bid for Lester.
