The Red Sox have accepted their fate. They are willing to have last-place finishes in 2012 and 2014 surround their championship in 2013 as long as they are well positioned to go for it all again in 2015.
And that is why they are actively talking to teams about trading both Jon Lester and John Lackey before Thursday’s deadline. The other player getting a bunch of interest is lefty reliever Andrew Miller.
Teams that have been in talks with the Red Sox describe their GM, Ben Cherington, as setting a high price for both starters and showing a willingness to go right to the deadline to see if he can get the returns he seeks. Cherington is on record as saying all of his moves will be made with the priority of making sure Boston is positioned to be a strong contender in 2015.
The Dodgers, Mariners and Brewers are among the clubs circling on Lester, who could become the most accomplished starter dealt if – as now is expected – the surging Rays hold onto David Price.
Lester is a free agent at the end of the season and has expressed a desire to remain with the Red Sox, even if traded elsewhere. That moved an executive from a club that has spoken to Boston officials to say, “It makes way too much sense for them to trade Lester. They have tried to sign him, and they obviously are not going to do that in the short term here. So if they want to sign him in the offseason, the only risk they are running is that he goes somewhere else, gets comfortable and decides he wants to stay there rather than testing free agency.
“It is not a negligible risk, but it is a risk worth taking. Because think of the win-win – they can get the prospects for Lester and still have him in 2015 and beyond. Plus, it might seem a small thing, but if they sign him in the offseason as a free agent, they would not get the draft picks if he were to sign somewhere else. So this is like doing better than those draft picks and – if they are able – also getting Lester back.”
Lester, 30, is an extreme attraction in this market because he is having his best season (10-7, 2.52 ERA, 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings) and because he has been so good in the postseason (6-4, 2.11).
Lackey, who turns 36 in October, is not of Lester’s quality, but is putting together a second strong season in a row (11-7, 3.60 ERA) and also is playoff proven (6-5, 3.03). The way his contract was constructed to protect the Red Sox from an arm injury (which Lackey ended up having), he has just a $500,000 contract for 2015. That is a huge bargain for whichever team Lackey is on. However, there have been indications that if the deal were not redone in some fashion, Lackey may just retire.
Boston also would trade its closer, Koji Uehara, if the right return were presented. But the growing perception within the game was the Red Sox would not get that return and, instead, will keep him, make him the $15 million-ish qualifying offer after the season and either negotiate a different deal for him, keep him on that one-year contract or get draft-pick compensation if he were to leave.
Instead, the Red Sox were more likely to deal one of Uehara’s setup men. Miller has been overpowering, holding opponents to a .175 batting average and .511 OPS, including .155/.434 by lefties. The southpaw is a free agent after this season.