Yankees Making a Late Push for Jon Lester?

Despite the rampant rumors and numerous claims early on in the off-season that the Yankees were not interested in the big free agent pitchers available in this years market, it's becoming more and more clear that the Yankees are making a late run at starting pitcher Jon Lester. The former Red Sox ace is expected to make a decision on where he'll pitch next season sometime this week before the annual baseball winter meetings are underway on Monday, and the Yankees have just stepped into the mix before that decision can be made.

Signing Lester over Max Scherzer, who has been linked to the Yankees as of late, would allow the Yankees to keep their first round draft pick in tact since Lester was traded from the Red Sox to the Athletics in the middle of last season. It seems as if the Yankees lack of draft compensation is pushing them towards free-agent reliever Andrew Miller as well, which is why it makes more sense that the Yankees are choosing to go after Lester rather than Scherzer.

As I previously stated above, rumors over the weekend started to surface that the Yankees had been preparing a six year offer for Max Scherzer, but nothing has come of those allegations to this point. After seeing other rival AL East make significant upgrades so far this winter, (Sandoval and Hanley to the Red Sox and Donaldson to the Blue Jays) it's obvious that the Yankees need to do something bold in order to keep up. Bringing in a premier free-agent like Jon Lester will certainly go a long way as far as improving the New York Yankees injury-plagued pitching staff.

Sources:

Keep in mind that Matt Abbatacola isn't an MLB Insider or a beat reporter for the New York Yankees, and this could very well end up being nothing when all is said and done, but there may be some validity here. After all, a random guy by the name of Christopher Meola was the one who leaked the Giancarlo Stanton mega contract extension earlier this winter before any baseball insider. Other teams in on Lester include the Giants, Cubs, Red Sox, and Cardinals.

New York Yankee Fans should be on high alert!