Washington Nationals rumors: Nats sign Jon Lester to 1-year deal

The Washington Nationals have reportedly agreed to a 1-year deal with left-hander Jon Lester, making him the second former Cub to D.C. this offseason.

Jon Lester won’t get his wish of remaining with the Chicago Cubs, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some familiar faces around, according to the latest Washington Nationals rumors.

Jeff Passan of ESPN reported Monday that the Nationals and Lester had a deal in place, pending physical, after Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic had first linked Lester to Washington.

The move dashes Lester’s hopes of retiring as a Chicago Cub while he pursues his 200th career win. The Cubs declined a $25 million option for the 2021 season.

But it will reunite him with a couple of pieces from Chicago’s 2016 World Series championship club. The Nationals are managed by Dave Martinez, who was the bench coach for Joe Maddon‘s club in 2016, and Washington added outfielder Kyle Schwarber to address a hole on the outfield corners.

Lester’s production has faded over the last two seasons. He combined for a 4.64 ERA and 1.453 WHIP over 43 starts in 2019-20, working 232.2 innings and recording 207 strikeouts with 69 walks.

According to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, Lester is, however, an old-school pitcher in that he still believes wins are an important measure for a pitcher and despite his struggles the last two seasons, Lester was still 16-13.

He is seven wins shy of the 200 mark for his career and without any major hardware on his resume, every milestone can add value to his Hall of Fame resume. This will be Lester’s 16th season and he is no longer a front-of-the-rotation arm, but he still knows how to pitch and can be a valuable addition on the back end.

Lester showed flashes of his old form over a three-start stretch from Sept. 11-21 last season, when he had two outings with six scoreless innings each and posted a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings.

That helped him clean up his 2020 numbers a bit, as Lester was 3-3 in 12 starts with a career-worst 5.16 ERA and a 1.328 WHIP in 61 innings, striking out 42 and walking 17.

Lester is a five-time All-Star with the Boston Red Sox and the Cubs, a three-time World Series champion and was the MVP of Chicago’s NLCS victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016.

His postseason resume is solid: a 2.51 ERA and 1.019 WHIP in 154 innings over 26 appearances, including 22 starts, with 133 Ks and 40 walks.

Lester tied for the National League lead with 18 wins in 2018, matching new teammate Max Scherzer as well as Miles Mikolas of the St. Louis Cardinals.

But he slipped in 2019, with his ERA inflating to 4.46 to go with a 1.497 WHIP that included allowing a NL-high 205 hits in just 171.2 innings.

Lester figures to slot into the No. 4 slot in Washington’s rotation behind Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and fellow lefty Patrick Corbin. If he can continue to adapt — Lester turned 37 earlier this month — he can add veteran experience to both the rotation and the clubhouse.