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Ladies and gentlemen the wait is finally over, and veteran left-handed starting pitcher Jon Lester will join the Chicago Cubs as reported by MLB on FOX’s Ken Rosenthal on Twitter.
Fans of both finalists were locked in on Twitter awaiting Lester’s decision on whether he would return to the Boston Red Sox after being dealt or find himself a new home in Chicago. Reports were sent out that the southpaw personally called the San Francisco Giants to inform them that he was going to be signing elsewhere.
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According to Jeff Passan, the Giants offered Lester $168 million but didn’t seem good enough to land his services, then ended up taking the six-year deal worth $155 million from Chicago. This just so happens to be the largest free agent contract in team history and the second largest for a pitcher – ever.
Shortly after San Francisco was informed of Lester’s decision, the Dodgers were eventually removed from the sweepstakes leaving it between two front-runners – the Cubs and Red Sox.
Passan also notes that Boston’s final offer was a six-year deal worth at least $30 million less than what Chicago had to give.
One of the main reasons why Lester chose Chicago, was he wanted to make history with the Cubs, which meant bringing a World Series to the franchise for the first time in over 100 years.
Chicago also met with the agent of former Red Sox teammate David Ross late Tuesday evening and could find himself wearing the same uniform within the next 24 hours.
Now that the franchise finally has the pitcher they have been looking to invest in, the starting rotation will surely feature Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Jason Hammel, and Kyle Hendricks with the final spot up for grabs.
Welcome to the North Side, Jon.