Jon Lester Trade: Lefty Goes to the Athletics for Yoenis Cespedes

So much for a quiet baseball trading deadline, eh? The Red Sox and Athletics dropped a genuine blockbuster today, with Boston sending Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes to the West Coast for Yoenis Cespedes. Earlier this month the A’s added Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel (now 0-4 since the trade), so Billy Beane is clearly “going for it,” which isn’t exactly a measurable SABR analytic, but so be it.

Lester, a free agent to be, has a 2.35 ERA and 155 ERA+, putting together a great year before he hits the open market and gives the A’s a proven postseason performer, even in a rental role.

Cespedes is definitely a big name type acquisition — given his ability to land on the highlight reel — for the Red Sox, although his numbers have dropped off since posting .292/.356/.505 as a rookie in 2012. This year the Cuban is down to .256/.303/.469, but he’s only on the books through 2015 at a reasonable $10.5 million.

Don’t overlook the value of the Athletics acquiring Jonny Gomes as a throw-in to the trade, as he proved his value in a part-time role in the playoffs last year.

Anyways, looks like with this trade baseball might get a little traction for a few minutes … at least until NFL training camps produce some sports news fodder.