John Lackey Takes Physical, Will Reportedly Sign with Boston Red Sox

Early this Monday morning, a report circled that the best free-agent starter available on the market, John Lackey , was in Boston taking a physical, a precursor to a signing with the Red Sox. AOL Fanhouse’s Ed Price first reported the news, and then other media outlets, including Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports , echoed the report.

In an interview, ESPN’s Jayson Stark chuckled, “It is very rare that a player fly to a town to take a physical when an agreement isn’t at least near.” So, though there has not been any confirmation from the Lackey camp nor the Red Sox, he appears Boston-bound.

I thought the Red Sox would be plum crazy to even negotiate with the 31-year old, who missed six starts last year due to elbow problems. Then, as reports came flying in regarding the yearly and dollar amount of the contract, I dubbed Red Sox general manager Theo Esptein completely nuts. According to Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman , who I consider to be very reliable, the deal will be five years for $85 million.

But then as I thought about it, I came around to the move. Now, with Lackey in the fold, their rotation is mindbogglingly good, as he joins the foursome of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Clay Buchholz. It’s a huge commitment, one I find a bit risky given his age and recent injury history, but it shows that Boston is itching to compete with the New York Yankees and attempt to dethrone the champs.

If there is one thing wrong with this move it is this: Boston is willing to sign Lackey for five years, and not outfielder Jason Bay, who is the same age? Bay would have re-signed with the team if given a guaranteed fifth year, and possibly a tad more annually, but they chose to move on and sign a guy who pitches every five days and may win 14-16 games per season.

I find that a bit odd. Certainly, with third baseman Mike Lowell’s ailing health, and designated hitter David Ortiz’s struggles, they would focus on shoring up their offense rather than focusing on an already formidable rotation, right? For some inexplicable reason, no.

But, as they say, you can never have too much pitching, and, if healthy, Lackey can be one of the best pitchers in the game. He has a 102-71 career record, and a 3.81 ERA over his first seven seasons in the majors. In the past he has said Boston isn’t that appealing to him, and he has only a 2-5 record with an ERA near six in his career at Fenway Park, but money most likely swayed his decision.

He will eat innings and keep the team in contention, but five years of him? This length, the length they refused to reward Bay with, could come back to bite Boston, a franchise obviously desperate to keep pace with their arch-rivals.