Report: Jon Lester, Nationals Agree to One-Year Contract

Jon Lester, 37, posted a career-worst 5.16 ERA in 12 starts in 2020.

Mike Dinovo/USA TODAY Sports

The Nationals signed starting pitcher Jon Lester to a one-year contract on Monday, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Washington and Lester will have a mutual option for the 2022 season, per Passan. 

Lester, 37, posted a career-worst 5.16 ERA in 12 starts in 2020. But he could bounce back in 2021 as a valuable depth piece for Washington behind top starters Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin. Lester has tallied 193 wins in 423 career starts, sporting a 3.60 career ERA. He previously spent the last six seasons with the Cubs after nine years in Boston. 

Left-handed starter Jon Lester and the Washington Nationals are in agreement on a one-year deal with a mutual option, pending physical, sources familiar with the contract told ESPN.

After a phenomenal six years in Chicago, Lester off to D.C. to join Scherzer, Strasburg, Corbin.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 19, 2021

Lester is one of baseball's more decorated active playoff pitchers. He has a 2.51 playoff ERA in 22 starts, winning World Series games with both the Red Sox and Cubs. Lester was a member of Boston's championship teams in 2007 and 2013, and he then took his winning ways to Chicago ahead of the 2016 World Series. Lester won NLCS MVP in 2016 as he finished with a 1.38 ERA in two starts against the Dodgers.

Washington won the World Series in 2019 before taking a step back last season. The Nationals finished last in the NL East in 2020 at 26–34, missing the postseason for just the third time since 2014.f