Red Sox made 'aggressive' offer to Jon Lester

Earlier on Wednesday, it was reported that the Red Sox had made an offer to Jon Lester, one he wasn't expected to make a quick decision on. It was good news to hear that Boston was keeping its in-season word by making an effort to bring Lester back to the team that drafted and developed him, but no word was given as to what the deal might look like. CSNNE's Sean McAdam has brought a measure of clarity to the situation, however, as he's reporting that the offer to Lester was an "aggressive" one.

That doesn't clarify whether it's a five-year deal or a six-year deal, but McAdam's source did state that it was lengthier than the four-year embarrassment the Red Sox kicked off negotiations with back in March. Marino Pepén tweeted earlier on Wednesday that the Red Sox had offered Lester six years, and while that's still not confirmed, it's a little easier to believe given McAdam's report.

Still, even if it turns out be true, we have no idea what the money looks like. A Lester offer from the Red Sox over six years could be anything from $110 million to $150 million, but something in that lower range is not going to cut it even if Lester decides to give them a little hometown discount help.

We might not find out the exact figure for some time given how carefully everyone is stepping around the information: this could very well be Lester's first offer of the offseason, so leaking dollars isn't in Boston's best interests unless they know they're going to blow everyone away. A more cautious approach makes sense with that in mind, even as little details like this come out to the public for Boston's benefit.