Dec. 09--SAN DIEGO -- As reports of six and seven-year offers worth at least $150 million persist, it's becoming apparent that the bar has been raised for marquee free agent left-hander Jon Lester.
Although the Cubs don't yet have the financial resources of the Boston Red Sox or the winning tradition of the San Francisco Giants, they have plenty of financial space to compete for Lester as a decision on his destination is expected soon at the winter meeetings.
The Cubs currently have earmarked $29.5 million to six players for 2015. That doesn't include their eight arbitration eligible players. That figure drops by $3.5 million in 2016 and Starlin Castro, Anthony Rizzo and Jorge Soler are the only signed players in 2017 (at $19 million).
Even if the Cubs are able to complete a trade for two-time All-Star catcher Miguel Montero (who will earn $40 million over the next three seasons), they still have space to accommodate Lester.
But money won't be the only factor, as the Giants and Red Sox try to make convincing cases. After losing out on free-agent third baseman Pablo Sandoval to the Red Sox last month, the Giants have amped up their recruitment of Lester, from their financial commitment to personal pleas by manager Bruce Bochy and pitcher Tim Hudson.
The Cubs still don't have a contract to televise their 70 games in 2015, and their deal with Comcast SportsNet Chicago to telecast the remaining games runs through 2019.
But they wouldn't commit themselves this far in the Lester sweepstakes without the knowledge that a lucrative television contract would crystallize before spring training.
"We know what's at stake here, and we're not going to short-arm negotiations," Crane Kenney, the Cubs' President of Business Operations, told a group of season ticket holders in October. "We're very confident we're going to have a very good outcome on the TV deal."
