Jones: Will Red Sox Seal The Deal On Lester, Sandoval?
BOSTON (CBS) - Major League Baseball free agency is heating up, so on Thursday night 98.5 The Sports Hub's Adam Jones had on Jason Mastrodonato from Mass Live to break it all down from a Red Sox perspective.
The two big names you're hearing for Boston are free agent third baseman Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval and Jon Lester.
Jones is dubious of the sincerity of the Red Sox offer, and thinks it's just a way for the team to save face in the wake of blundering the negotiation last offseason.
"I'm with you Adam. There's a reason why this offer came out. How many offers do you see get into the public eye, especially this early in the process. He still has more teams to meet. I was surprised to see that come out," said Mastrodonato.
The reported six-year $120 million deal the team is offering Lester now, while more generous than the initial four years and $70 million, is still not in the ball park according to Mastrodonato.
"I was told by somebody very close to Lester that if he got the deal that was right to him, whether it was today or April 1st right before the season, then he would sign immediately. This deal I don't think is very appealing to him. I don't think this is a deal he's taking seriously. This is far from being played out. The Cubs still have to meet with him, and the Yankees could always get involved too -- that one scares me the most."
Despite the skepticism, Mastrodonato is still convinced the Red Sox are the favorite to sign Lester.
"I feel like the relationship there is still really good. So I think the Red Sox are the favorites. I'm still scared of the Yankees jumping in, and I know the Cubs are doing their due diligence because they like Lester. Let's see what the Yankees do going forward."
According to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, the three teams "in" on free agent third baseman Pablo Sandoval are the Red Sox, Giants and Padres.
What's stood out to Jones is that the Red Sox have not yet made a formal offer to Sandoval, which Mastrodonato touched on.
"I know that they've talked and the sense that I get is Pablo Sandoval wants to play in Boston. The Globe reported that David Ortiz has been in on this in bringing Sandoval to Boston, and the thing about Ortiz is that he's very persuasive. You can laugh that off, but he's a pretty persuasive guy and his voice carries a lot of weight. Peter Gammons said that Ortiz took Sandoval out to dinner that night he came. I still think the Red Sox are the favorite to get him, but why they haven't made a former offer I don't know."
Listen below for the full conversation!
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