Jon Lester chooses Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs have won the Jon Lester sweepstakes, with the free-agent left-hander agreeing to sign with the team late Tuesday night.
The deal is for six years and $155 million, a source confirmed to ESPNChicago.com's Jesse Rogers.
Among other incentives negotiated by Lester and his agents, Seth and Sam Levinson, the deal includes a signing bonus of $30 million to be paid over the life of the contract and a full no-trade clause. Lester will earn $145 million between his base salary and signing bonus and receive either a $10 million buyout after six seasons or a $25 million vesting option for the 2021 season that could bring Lester's total take to $170 million, a source familiar with terms of the contract told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.
The option would vest if Lester pitches at least 200 innings in 2020 or at least 400 in the 2019 and 2020 seasons combined.
He also gets access to 25 hours of personal flights on a private plane per year.
Lester took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to react to the agreement.