Red Sox owner John Henry flew to Atlanta on Friday to meet with Jon Lester at his offseason home. They’re all in on the free agent left-hander, hoping to lure him back to Boston and away from the other serious suitors like the Dodgers, Giants, and Cubs.
If it doesn’t work out — and we should find out Lester’s destination at some point during this week’s Winter Meetings — the Red Sox will likely move along to the other top starter in this market. More from Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald …
The Red Sox, who continue to put on a full-court press to sign Lester, might nevertheless be shut out, which will force them to come up with an alternative.
The first name that is going to stare them in the face and that they will begin to explore more aggressively than they already have, along with at least 10 other teams, is free agent Max Scherzer.
Besides the Red Sox, the teams who are expected to take a long, serious look at the right-hander are the Yankees, Dodgers, Nationals, Tigers, Phillies, Cardinals, Cubs, White Sox, Giants and Blue Jays, according to industry insiders reached yesterday.
Scherzer, a Scott Boras client, is a bit younger than Lester and will probably command a slightly bigger contract. The righty is expected to wait until the tail end of the offseason to settle on a team.
