The hot stove continues to heat up around free agent left-hander Jon Lester as the Chicago Cubs have pitched him a $138 million offer while the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants remain in the mix and the Atlanta Braves aren't strong suitors.
CBS Sports reports that the Cubs tabled the offer -- which is a six-year pact -- to Lester in hopes to win the sweepstakes for the southpaw. Chicago was seen as the favorite to land Lester as recently as last week, but with more offers coming things may be changing.
The Giants are still fuming over losing Pablo Sandoval to the Red Sox on a $90 million deal and are in hot pursuit of Lester.
San Francisco met with Lester on Monday and are said to be tight-lipped about the recruiting process, though fellow Atlanta native and Lester's good friend Tim Hudson is part of the process of attempting to lure him to the Bay Area.
The Giants are also said to be in on Max Scherzer, should things with Lester fall through.
Boston has offered the left-hander somewhere around the $130 million range for six years, but both the Red Sox and Cubs are both said to be willing to go up in price. Boston already made a splash with the Sandoval signing, which was followed by a pact with Hanley Ramirez.
As for his hometown Braves, the team gave him a lower proposition than the rest of the clubs, but is hoping that maybe he'll give a hometown discount to play in Atlanta.
Lester, 30, went 16-11 overall between the Red Sox and Oakland Athletics in 2014 and ranked fourth in the American League with a 2.46 ERA and fifth with 220 strikeouts in 32 starts.
Lester, a three-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, is 116-67 in his nine-year career with a 3.58 ERA, 1.276 WHIP and 1,457 strikeouts.
While there have been plenty of offers placed and meetings held, a decision by Lester on his team for 2015 and beyond doesn't expect to be made anytime soon.
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