ESPN: John Lester traded to Oakland

[kozlodoev]

Brewer fan here.

my 2 cents-->Sox missed out on an opportunity to grab some top prospects.  I can't see Cespedes fitting into the Sox' long-term strategy and giving up a top ace like Lester has to translate into a major haul of assets.  Of course what the Sox really should have done is just sign Lester for 4/80 or 5/100 deal and make the effort to bounce back next year.  now, they're going to wish they had a pitcher of his caliber when they fall short the next several years.

If Lester could be had for 4/80 or 5/100, he would have been signed long ago.

Also, the situation is simple: they either can sign him, or they can't. If they can sign him, they can easily do so over the offseason (he wants to be here). If they can't, holding on to him for 2 months is not going to change that.

So pretty much you have to trade him, one way or the other.

[hwangjini_1]

Brewer fan here.

my 2 cents-->Sox missed out on an opportunity to grab some top prospects.  I can't see Cespedes fitting into the Sox' long-term strategy and giving up a top ace like Lester has to translate into a major haul of assets.  Of course what the Sox really should have done is just sign Lester for 4/80 or 5/100 deal and make the effort to bounce back next year.  now, they're going to wish they had a pitcher of his caliber when they fall short the next several years.

i am not sure which prospects you are referring to here. the O's, dodgers, and cards already publicly stated that their top prospects would NOT be available for a 2 month rental of lester. and the A's just demonstrated the same thing.

if such a deal for a large basket of great prospects had been on the table, i believe cherington would have taken it. that he traded for cepedes means that was the best deal he saw available.

cepedes should fit very well into left field at fenway. his range is not good enough to be great in RF, but in LF, his arm will play well at keeping runners from stretching wall doubles to just singles. i believe he and JBJ lead the league in outfield assists this season.

his hitting? not the obp we all love and adore, but the power is much needed by the sox. by the way, i believe cepedes' ops right now, a slightly down year, would place in fourth on the sox. not shabby.

plus, they got the comp draft pick from oakland. if they had not traded lester and not resigned him - very possible - a comp pick would have been their only return. so not a bad return on this point either.

all in all, it is hard to negotiate for too much when you are only offering two months of service from a pitcher, or, roughly 12 starts. how many more wins would those 12 starts by lester provide a team over their current starter? some for sure, but enough to give away the farm? most teams did not think so.

good trade, better than i thought the sox would get.

[Pucaccia]

At first I was little underwhelmed but after the dust has cleared I like it.
As stated before, the Sox would have to match the highest offer anyway. If they do and get Lester back, what a steal.
However, look at the outfield now. Bradley and Cespedes have the two best arms in baseball.
Currently we have a very nice outfield.

[Jon]

I'm not so much disappointed about Cespedes as I am about potentially losing Lester.  While Cespedes might have some Wily Mo qualities, he's far more established offensively than Wily Mo ever was (having performed relatively well the past three years) and is actually an asset in LF with his good defense and cannon of an arm.  And that's not even taking into account Cespedes going from arguably the worst hitters park in baseball to arguably the best.

Still, putting aside loyalty, I don't like the idea of letting Lester go because this team isn't going to be bad for long.  They have deep pockets, a good farm system, and still have some pretty darn good players on the roster.  They are going to need an ace this coming season or next, so if Lester is truly gone for good, that's going to be tough to replace.  As much as I like the likes of Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster, they likely project as middle of the rotation pitchers at best. 

Still, the fact that Ben Cherrington traded Lester (and Gomes) for Cespedes and not a package of prospects suggests that he plans on contending next season--not in a few years--which gives further credibility to the idea that the Sox will make a run at bringing back Lester this offseason.  And if he wasn't going to really give them a hometown discount anyway, this trade could end up being the best of both worlds with Lester back in Boston with a power hitting corner outfielder providing run support. 

[Vermont Green]

Losing Lester sucks and is a step backwards for the team no matter how you slice it.  He probably will sign for crazy money somewhere and like Ellsbury last year and others in the past, we will just have to accept it.  I respect that the Sox have to draw the line somewhere on these contracts for players.

In terms of the trade, I am surprised that they got a decent everyday player instead of prospects.  There is no guarantee that any of the prospects discussed will be as good as Cespedes.  I am glad they got a "player" instead of prospects.  They also got a pretty good draft pick (which actually just makes up for the one they would get for Lester signing elsewhere).

I think in the end, the Sox will be viewed as winning the trade unless the A's win the world series and resign Lester at something reasonable.

[Csfan1984]

Fair deal for both sides. Good Luck to Lester and A's this year.

[slamtheking]

I get the feedback from everyone regarding my post but here's my thinking (and I could be off on this) but if I'm Oakland, I wouldn't make this deal without some agreement with Lester that he'd resign.  Call it the "Sabathia" experience from my Brewer perspective. 

If Oakland only wants the 2 month rental, I can see why the prospects were off the table but again, having been through a similar situation a few years ago, if you've got a chance to land a starter of that quality, make the effort to get him to agree to having a new contract lined-up before the trade.

As for the Sox, I think trading Lester ends up driving up the price to resign him if he hits free agency.  my numbers may be low as some have mentioned but my main point is he could have been signed for less than top dollar which is what I believe it will take to resign him before next season.  I fully expect NY and LA to make obscene offers.

[McHales Pits]

Now Lackey traded to St. Louis for junk...

Peavy nets two Top-10 Organizational prospects, but Lester and Lackey get none?

I am baffled that we decide to blow it up and sell off our assets for major league junk. We didn't get one prospect for Lester, Lackey, Gomes, Doubront. Not one!

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I agree that it sucks to lose Lester, and it'll suck if the Sox can't get him back. That said ...

• Cespedes, even with his flaws, is a big offensive upgrade for the Sox outfield
• As someone else here pointed out, Cespedes and Bradley are a great defensive combo

And I just heard that the Sox have traded Lackey to the Cardinals for Joe Kelly and Allen Craig. I like the idea of a Bogaerts/Pedroia/Cespedes/Ortiz/Napoli/Craig/Victorino lineup.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Now Lackey traded to St. Louis for junk...

Peavy nets two Top-10 Organizational prospects, but Lester and Lackey get none?

I am baffled that we decide to blow it up and sell off our assets for major league junk. We didn't get one prospect for Lester, Lackey, Gomes, Doubront. Not one!

I like Gomes, but he wasn't worth a top prospect. Neither was Doubront, who's mostly been hot garbage. And apparently no one wanted to give up top prospects (Joc Pederson, etc.) for Lester or Lackey, so I'm happy with getting a good young pitcher (Kelly) and two guys who have proven to be decent offensive contributors (Cespedes and Craig)—far more productive than any of this season's Sox outfielders.

[Roy H.]

. We didn't get one prospect for Lester, Lackey, Gomes, Doubront. Not one!

The Sox did get a decent draft pick in the Lester trade.  There will be good talent there.

[sofutomygaha]

I need you guys to help me get excited about Cespedes... please someone try to explain to me why he's a good offensive player without bringing up the home run derby.

As far as Lester goes, Oakland will not resign him. They won't even try. The Athletics don't give contracts over ~$40M. If Mike Trout was a free agent, the Athletics wouldn't offer him 5/100.

The Orioles and the Yankees, on the other hand, are going to make sure that we pay Lester an ungodly amount of money. If the Orioles want to spend another year at the top of AL East, signing Lester would be a very expensive move that would nonetheless go a long way.

[rondofan1255]

I wish they could have gotten what the Braves gave for Texeira-rental or the Phils for Halladay. However, that was more wishful thinking on my part.

Cespedes and Craig improve the outfield, and if Craig gets out of this year-long slump, then I don't mind these deals at all. Shark got Addison Russell in return, but if the Sox want to win now, Cespedes and Craig (and even Kelly) have some PO experience...

I wish they hadn't given up on this season so quickly though

[Fafnir]

I need you guys to help me get excited about Cespedes... please someone try to explain to me why he's a good offensive player without bringing up the home run derby.

Because he has above average power while he gets on base at a slightly below league average rate.

That means he's a good offensive player, but not a great one.

[sofutomygaha]

Clay Buchholz is basically the only guy who touched the ball for us in the 2013 WS that is still on the team.