Good point on Ellsbury. With Boros as his agent, there is almost certain to be a free agent bidding war. When that happens the winner usually ends up being the loser.
Ellsbury only has value to teams in a race and they know they will lose him to free agency so his value is limited. They would be trading to get a player for 1/2 a season. The Sox would be better off keeping him for the same reasons other teams may want him. As far as Lester is concerned, you don't trade starting pitching if you want to compete.Losing Miller was huge.
Lester has now struggled for the last year and a half as a starter. His ERA is one of the worse in the AL over that time frame. His fastball appears to still have some zip but his location has been terrible. He has had the benefit of some pretty good pitching coaches watching him and yet he continues to be mediocre. I wonder if they should try him out in the bullpen. Dennis Eckersley started out as a starter and was pretty effective winning 20 games for the Sox at the tender age of 23. By 28 he began to lose his effectiveness. Oakland picked him up and made him a closer and he dominated there for the next eleven years. At this point, why not give it a try?
