Lester scratched from Wednesday start, Workman to take his place

After the Boston Red Sox loss Tuesday to the Toronto Blue Jays, Red Sox manager John Farrell announced that Jon Lester will not be starting at Fenway Park on Wednesday. Farrell told the media,

"“Yeah, Brandon Workman will start. In light of all the uncertainty surrounding Jon Lester, it’s probably in everyone’s best interests that he does not make that start, so Brandon will be recalled. There will be a corresponding move roster-wise at some point [today].”"

Workman was re-called late Tuesday from Triple-A Pawtucket. This whole scenario gets even more interesting because prior to the game Farrell had told reporters that Lester was going to make his Wednesday start. What happened between then and the end of the ballgame is a mystery.

The Red Sox have not announced a trade but scratching Lester from his Wednesday start makes it appear more likely that a trade scenario involving Lester could be in the works. It makes the left-hander seem even more valuable. It helps get all the interested suitors scrambling to put together packages to out bid one another. It also makes Lester more attractive to teams knowing that they will be able to start him immediately and not have to wait five days to start their newly acquired ace.

Yet, even if Lester is traded for the next three months he will be a free agent come November and has expressed wanting to rejoin the Red Sox even if they trade him in the next two days. Lester has played his entire career with the Red Sox and seems to be planning to make that happen even if he is forced to take a few months away from Boston this season.

The reaction in the Boston clubhouse was tense. Lester’s teammates seemed to be bracing themselves for his departure. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia reportedly said,

"“Yeah, it’s tough. We’re not teammates — we’re family. It’s something you don’t like going through. It makes you feel worse. We don’t want to be in this position.”"

Of course Big Papi contributed his feelings about the situation as well,

"“Lester is like a brother to me, you know what I’m saying?” David Ortiz said. “Pedey was right. We’ve been together for a long period of time, and it comes to the fact that all these trades and rumors are going around, it can get a little complicated. We’ll see.”"

Really, trading Lester seems like the way to go for the Red Sox who are hoping to get a good prospect out of the deal. They have fallen to 48-59 and do not appear to be contenders. If they trade Lester and gain something from the process only to re-sign him in the off-season then there is no harm done. It really is the smartest way to go.