We need to stop distorting the narrative regarding Lester. The best example is how some people outright lie by saying Boston “lowballed” Lester with its initial offseason extension offer, which is patently not true if you look at where he was and what the status of contracts were at the time. It’s likely nobody anticipated the level to which pitching contracts exploded over the past 400 days, and its only with the hindsight of seeing Lester return to peak dominant form that anyone can say he should have been paid more. Hindsight regarding a contract that could have been given to a veteran is a poor way to evaluate a trade. It should be judged by what was given up and what was brought back; the rest is just noise.

The Lackey trade is a clear different story. Boston’s major issue has been getting steady competitive starts from the rotation, the exact thing Lackey would have offered, and all for peanuts. Kelly has actually greatly exceeded my expectations, but Craig has both underperformed and been a very unneeded part. Your grade and evaluation is right on there.