Jon Lester has agreed to a five-year deal, buying out his first year of free agency. The Sox have a $13 million team option for his second year in 2014. The five years total $30 million and locks up yet another Sox youngster. Great news, especially with Lester on the charts of scouts to make a push for the Cy Young award this year.
I previously wrote that Nomar Garciaparra would be a good option for the Sox to bring in as a backup infielder. Bottomline Rob left a comment saying he was unsure if the burned bridges from 2003-4 had been repaired for that to be likely.
Well, Cafardo in today's Globe:
[Nomar] placed a call to the Sox front office inquiring about their potential interest. He would have provided some protection at third and first, but the Sox felt they were all set in that department and passed. Garciaparra, who spent a lot of time in Boston this offseason having his calves worked on, then signed with Oakland.
I can understand passing to give Lowrie and Lugo playing time, but should one of the two eventually be traded and a hole opening up for 2010 and Nomar's healthy and able (all of the previous are big ifs, of course) ... it would make for a nice homecoming.
Also, I will be chatting with New England Sports Country (click "Red Soxx Country in the sidebar or the upcoming link) Tuesday night at 8 p.m. (I did this last spring also). Mark it on your calendar and join us then. There will be pre-selected questions (submit them to NESC2006[@]cox.net [take out the brackets, this was to prevent spam] and then a free-for-all.
Hope to see you all then!
Less than a month ago, right handed Rule V pick Miguel Gonzalez had an arthrogram taken on his elbow in the next couple of days. The X-ray procedure includes an injection of dye in order to get a better understanding of any possible damage. According to a Boston.com report last night, Miguel underwent Tommy John and will undergo rehab in Fort Myers. Many had speculated that this may have been an excuse to put him on the "Phantom DL", but it looks like he'll probably miss the entire season and likely be returned to the Angels.