The Twitterverse is, well, atwitter with news that John Lackey is in Boston to take a physical for the Red Sox. For those who might be thinking that John is just traveling a long way to turn his head and cough for no real reason, a physical is usually the last step a free agent takes before inking a new contract, which of course means Lackey is going to be signing with the freaking Boston Red Sox shortly, reportedly. Nothing is official yet, but stay glued to this post and I will update as details emerge.
- 10:52 AM – Ken Rosenthal reports the contract is going to be very close to the one AJ Burnett got last season.
- 11:03 AM – Supposedly the two sides are close but no announcement is expected to come from the Red Sox today. That doesn’t mean that the media can’t make it official before then though (as it did when Figgins signed with Seattle), so this really doesn’t mean much if you are quietly hoping the deal falls through.
- 12:05 PM – Jon Heyman is now reporting that the deal is $85 million over five years. At that price, I can’t really blame the Angels for not bringing Big John back.
- 12:59 PM – Anyone hoping the replace John Lackey with Roy Halladay (like me) might want to sit down. Halladay just got traded to the Phillies who then turned around and dealt Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners. This is pretty much the worst possible turn of events for the Angels who have no strong option to replace Lackey now and just watched a division rival get a LOT better. If anyone needs me, I’ll be vomiting in the bathroom for the next three weeks.
- 4:26 PM – Not that anyone cares anymore, but the Lackey to Boston deal is official at $85 million for five years. As much as people are upset that Lackey is gone, honestly, would anyone really have wanted the Angels to make that kind of crazy commitment to him?