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Red Sox 'closing in' on dealing Jon Lester to the Orioles

The Red Sox are close to dealing ace Jon Lester to the Orioles.

By Ray Guilfoyle
Rich Schultz

In what has to be deemed a shocking development, the Red Sox are "closing in" on a deal that would send Jon Lester to the Orioles. Here is Peter Abraham from the Boston Globe:

The Red Sox have been rumored to be interested in either Kevin Gausman or Dylan Bundy, who is currently rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. If they were to get either in return for two months of Lester, you would have to say the Red Sox made out pretty well in the deal, but the final deal has not been announced, and, in fact, some are downplaying that a trade is close. This from Joel Sherman from the New York Post:

Earlier this afternoon, we learned that the Dodgers are backing off on any trade talk involving any of the top starters available, including Lester, David Price and Cole Hamels.

I doubt we see either Hamels or Price traded at the deadline, as the Rays are still in the wild card hunt, and Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is a little delirious with his asking price of three top prospects in return for Hamels.

Should this deal go down, I see Lester's fantasy value remaining the same, as he is already one of the top starting pitchers in the game, and he isn't going to a pitcher-friendly park.

I will update this as we learn more on the details of this deal, assuming it becomes official.

Update: It appears the two teams are still talking, but the Red Sox are still talking to other teams as well, so no trade is imminent at this point. Here is ESPN's Jim Bowden on another possible suitor for Lester:

Who finally ends up with Lester?