Jon Lester's $25M Club Option Declined by Cubs; Will Receive $10M Buyout

The Chicago Cubs have declined their $25 million club option on left-handed starting pitcher Jon Lester and will pay him a $10 million buyout instead, per Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM and 670 The Score.

Lester inked a six-year, $155 million contract with the team before the 2015 season. He went 77-44 with a 3.64 ERA and 940 strikeouts in 1,002.2 innings during his six seasons in Chicago.

The 36-year-old was named a National League All-Star in 2016 and 2018 and led the league with 18 wins in 2018.

The 2016 season, which ended with the Cubs' first World Series title since 1908, was arguably Lester's best in Chicago. He went 19-5 with a 2.44 ERA and 197 punchouts in 202.2 innings in addition to posting a 1.016 WHIP. Lester dominated in those playoffs as well, winning the National League Championship Series MVP against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Lester's final year in Chicago did not end on a high note: He went just 3-3 with a 5.16 ERA and saw his strikeouts per nine innings dip to a career-low 6.2.

The southpaw, who turns 37 years old in January, gave up five or more earned runs in five of his 12 starts, including seven in his final outing against the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 26.

The Washington native played his first eight-plus seasons with the Boston Red Sox and helped the team win a pair of World Series titles. He made three All-Star Games during his time in Boston and finished fourth in the American League Cy Young voting in 2010 and 2014. Lester also posted a career-high 225 strikeouts in 2009 and 2010.

The Red Sox dealt him to the Oakland Athletics before the 2014 trade deadline, and then Lester left the A's in free agency for the Cubs.

Lester has notably been dominant during the postseason, going 9-7 with a 2.51 ERA and 1.019 WHIP. He's particularly shined in the World Series with a 4-1 mark and 1.77 ERA.

The Cubs now have a hole in their rotation, but numerous starting pitchers are still under contract in 2021, including Kyle Hendricks and Yu Darvish. There is no shortage of free-agent starters if the Cubs want to go that route, including Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman and Masahiro Tanaka.