David Ortiz was not thrilled to see his longtime teammate Jon Lester get traded by the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, but he does have some optimism about playing with his friend again.
Ortiz talked with MLB Network’s Tom Verducci Friday about the two big moves Boston made prior to the trade deadline and hinted that Lester might return to Boston.
“I wasn’t happy,” Ortiz said of the Lester trade. “That’s one of my pretty good friends and teammates for a long time. And the season he was having … always wish him the best. But I have a feeling I will play with him again before my career ends.”
Lester will be a free agent after the season, and the Red Sox are a candidate to sign him. Perhaps Lester or Boston’s front office tipped their plans to Ortiz.
Boston had a nice overall day in terms of returns. They received Cespedes and a draft pick from Oakland, and Joe Kelly and Allen Craig from St. Louis in the Lackey trade. Ortiz understands what management was doing.
“It’s looking like we’re trying to rebuild and get things better for next year,” Ortiz told MLB Network’s Verducci. “Hopefully that’s the case. We’ll see if what we will help us to finish the season good and get better for next year. We got some good players. We have a couple of bats, we have a young, talented pitcher in Joe Kelly. I faced him last year in the playoffs and he has explosive stuff. Hopefully it can work out the way we expect.”
As you could imagine, Ortiz is pretty happy about having Cespedes on his team. He raved about the Cuban slugger’s power and ability to learn, and he believes he’s still figuring out the game.
“Great man, great. This kid has unbelievable power. I think in his case he’s still in the learning process. But he has explosive power.”
Boston was 48-60 this season, so it made complete sense to trade some parts in return for others. And how great will they look if they sign Lester in the winter after getting Cespedes and a draft pick for him?
