Red Sox Spring Training Blog: Jon Lester Reiterates That He'll Take A Hometown Discount
FORT MYERS, Fla. (CBS) -- Red Sox pitchers and catchers had a solid two-hour workout here in Fort Myers on Monday - the first official workout of the spring.
--Jon Lester reiterated that he would take a hometown discount on a deal to stay in Boston. He's comfortable here and would like to finish his career in a Sox uniform. He's in line for somewhere around a six to seven-year deal at $20-25 million per season. His deal is up at the end of this year. If I'm Ben Cherington, I offer him a five-year deal at $100-125 million today.
--Lester said of contract talks: "That's not really something I'm concerned about right now. I've got to be worried about getting ready for the season physically, and get ready mentally for the season. ... If it's something that we do get done during spring training, great. If it's not, I think you have to take everything as it comes. If that involves going through the season and still talking or getting it done early, we'll just kind of play it by ear and see what happens."
--It was interesting that Lester talked about how he wants to pass down knowledge to the young pitchers about playing in the big leagues, much like Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett did for him.
--Red Sox manager John Farrell said familiarity with each other was probably the biggest difference between this year and last year. Farrell was in his rookie season as manager of the Sox last spring.
--As far as the young guys go, when asked about what they can be taught about playing on the big league level, Farrell said, "The greatest teacher is between the lines."
--Lots of talk about Brandon Workman today, who was so good for the Sox last season after starting the season in Double-A. He said it was a "surreal" experience pitching in the postseason, especially the eighth inning of the clinching game.
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--Jake Peavy will have his right ring finger examined after hurting it while working out down here last week. There doesn't seem to be much concern at this point on the part of either Peavy or Farrell.
--Farrell also estimated that newly signed catcher A.J. Pierzynski would get between 100-110 starts behind the plate if all goes well this season. That would mean David Ross would pick up anywhere between 50-60 starts as the backup or co-catcher.
--Recently signed veteran reliever Francisco Cordero is expected to be in camp Monday for a physical and, if all goes well, be out on the field Tuesday working out. Rich Hill has not yet reported due to personal reasons while Jose Mijares is having visa issues.
--No new position players showed up on Monday, at least not between the hours of 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.
You can follow Dan on Twitter @RochieWBZ.
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