South Sound native Jon Lester looking to start fresh this spring with Cubs
There isn’t too much mileage left on Jon Lester’s left arm — and he knows that. After all, it has been nearly two decades since his professional baseball career began.
He’s pitched more than 2,500 innings since his major league debut with the Red Sox back in 2006, and even more than that in his four-plus seasons working up through the minors after Boston took him in the second round out of Tacoma’s Bellarmine Prep High School in 2002.
“I think I probably don’t have many left,” Lester said Sunday, following his most recent spring training start. “But, I’m not going to put a cap on how many.”
Lester, perhaps the most accomplished major leaguer the South Sound has ever produced, turned 36 years old in January, is entering his 15th season in the big leagues, and his sixth with the Cubs.
He is a five-time All-Star, three-time World Series champ — most recently with Chicago in 2016 — and shared the NLCS MVP award with teammate Javier Baez in 2016.
But, Lester’s most recent run with the Cubs didn’t pan out as well as others. He posted a 13-10 record and 4.46 ERA — his highest since 2012 with Boston — in 31 starts, and led the league in hits allowed (205).
After one troublesome start in August, he called himself the “weakest link” in Chicago’s rotation.
He’s looking for a fresh start this spring, in the final season of a six-year, $155 million contract, which includes a 2021 option.
“Right now I feel good, and hopefully I can continue to pitch at a level that I like,” Lester said. “I’m not just going to run out there to run out there. I want to be competitive, and I want to help the team, and I don’t want to be a liability, so I’ll do it for however long that happens.
“I know it’s getting ... longer and longer to get ready for games. That’s obviously something you have to weigh. But, right now I feel good, and I look forward to this year.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow will we cover spring training in 2020?
The Seattle Mariners are ready to report to spring training and so is The News Tribune. Beat reporter Lauren Smith will be on the ground in Peoria, Ariz., from the first full squad practice. And our coverage will continue through the final roster decisions at the end of March, bringing fans the latest on the second year of Seattle’s rebuild. Click on the arrow in the top right for more.
Looking to the future
While the Mariners aren’t exactly expected to contend for a playoff spot in 2020, these six weeks of preseason workouts and games will give us a closer look at some of the top prospects — like outfielders Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez, and former first-round draft pick Logan Gilbert — expected to be key pieces of the club’s future, and some of the young players battling for Opening Day roster spots. We’ll also be able to catch up with the more experienced players — like veteran third-baseman Kyle Seager and ace pitcher Marco Gonzales — already in Seattle’s clubhouse.
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Sunday’s second spring training start against the Mariners showed the progress he’d like to see. Lester’s first outing last week didn’t produce desired results, but he felt strong. His second was much crisper.
Lester cruised through three innings against the Mariners, allowing two hits — singles from J.P. Crawford and Mallex Smith, who were both subsequently caught stealing — while striking out four. The Cubs eventually won, 7-3.
“Today was a lot better,” Lester said. “I was able to take what we worked on prior to last game into my bullpen, and then just kind of finally got it to a higher intensity mode, just when you get a little bit of the adrenaline, and you’re facing guys that you’re trying to get out, and being able to control and stay within it was a lot better today.
“It showed with just how crisp my pitches were today compared to the other day.”
Lester has been the Cubs’ Opening Day starter for the past three seasons — he’s pitched Opening Day eight times in his career — but said where he stacks up in 2020 is of little concern as long as he locks down his rotation spot.
He said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Yu Darvish or Kyle Hendricks earn the nod for the Cubs this season.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if it was either one of those guys,” Lester said. “It’s obviously a huge honor to pitch Opening Day, but as long as I have a spot in there, I don’t really care. I just want to take the ball and pitch.”
Lester lives in Atlanta during the offseason, and doesn’t make it back to the northwest too often, but made the trip last May to pitch against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
He has a 5-3 record in games he’s pitched in Seattle, is 8-4 overall in his career against the Mariners in the regular season, and has shut them out each of the last four times he’s faced them — most recently in a win in September at Wrigley Field.
Should Lester remain with the Cubs, he wouldn’t pitch in Seattle again until 2022, when the NL Central and AL West next match up in interleague play, but enjoys the trips when they do come around.
“It’s always nice going back home,” he said. “In Boston it was once a year, so you knew you at least had that trip. It was always kind of right in the middle of the summer, so it’s always beautiful that time of year.
“I always want to pitch well when I’m there. … I’ve always loved that stadium. It’s always good to see people that you haven’t seen in a long time.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 8:15 AM.
