Chicago Cubs: Jon Lester dismissal the latest off-season blunder
The Chicago Cubs have had an off-season that has been filled with farewells, blunders, misinformation, and missed opportunities.
The latest instance of this embarrassing off-season happened on Monday when free agent pitcher Jon Lester signed a one-year deal with the Washington Nationals. Lester’s contract with the Nationals was reported to be for one-year worth $5 million and mutual option for a second year. Lester’s base salary in 2021 will be $2 million with $3 million being deferred in the form of a signing bonus.
Towards the end of the 2020 season, Lester spoke candidly about his dream of returning to the Cubs in 2021 in order to secure his 200th career victory. In the off-season, Lester toasted Cubs fans with a weekend of buying Miller Lites for fans at the various bars across Wrigley Field.
It was clear that Lester wanted to return to the Cubs. However, the Cubs did not have a clear desire to bring Lester back.
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"The mandate from ownership and the business side wouldn’t allow Hoyer to make an offer. And even when the Nationals offer came in, and Lester gave the Cubs a chance to counter, the Cubs were “not close” to the Nats — perhaps as low as $2 million.-Gordon Wittenmyer via NBC Sports Chicago"
The fact that the Cubs’ baseball operations was not allowed to offer a contract worth $5 million for a position of need is embarrassing. The Chicago Cubs are not the Tampa Bay Rays. The Chicago Cubs are not the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yet, The Ricketts’ family are choosing to conform to the MLB fallacy that teams do not have money because of the lack of fans in the stands during the 2020 Major League Baseball season. How is that working for Steve Cohen and the New York Mets; or the San Diego Padres?
Endless resources. That is what Cubs’ chairman Tom Ricketts promised for the team’s baseball operations. Endless resources. That is what Cubs’ chairman Tom Ricketts has. Endless resources. That is what Tom Ricketts does not want provide the baseball operations this off-season because of the fact that there were no fans in Wrigley Field last year. Ricketts’ refusal to properly provide the necessary resources to the baseball operations of the Cubs is why he needs to immediately recuse himself as the chairman of the team and the family needs to sell.
Looking beyond the lack of resource provided to the baseball operations, Ricketts dismissal of allowing the team to re-sign Lester proves that he does not care about honoring the legacy of the players from the 2016 World Series team. Lester was casted away by the Ricketts and the Cubs as if he was a piece of garbage.
Next. Embarrassing off-season for Chicago Cubs. dark
This off-season has been a dark time for Tom Ricketts and the Chicago Cubs. They no longer are a dynasty or consistent World Series contender. Instead, the Chicago Cubs are a joke across the Major League Baseball landscape.