Jon Lester Retires After 16 MLB Seasons; Won 3 World Series with Red Sox and Cubs

AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

The 16-year Major League Baseball career of Jon Lester is over.
According to Jesse Rogers, the body isn't able to handle the grind of a full season anymore.
"It's kind of run its course," he said. It's getting harder for me. The little things come up throughout the year and turn into bigger problems.

He played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, and Washington Nationals. He made five All-Star teams and had four top 10 finishes in Cy Young voting.
The second round of the 2002 MLB draft was where the Red Sox originally selected Jon Lester. He made his big-league debut in 2006 but his season was cut short when he was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma after experiencing back pain.
After undergoing treatment for cancer, he was able to return to the team. The Washington native made his first career playoff start in the World Series. He pitched a complete game in a 4-3 win for the Red Sox.
The first nine years of his career were in Boston before he was traded to the A's at the trade deadline. He helped Oakland make the playoffs, but they lost in the wild-card game to the Royals.
The Cubs were in a rebuilding phase when they signed Lester as a free agent. He signed a six-year, $155 million deal with Chicago to get back together with Theo Epstein, who worked in Boston's front office from 2001-11.
One of the Cubs' heroes in the 2016 World Series was Lester. He went 3-1 in six appearances with a 2.02 earned run and 30 strikeouts. In the World Series, the left-handed pitcher pitched in relief on two days of rest.
The 2016 season was the last great one for the left-handed pitcher, who finished ninth in the Cy Young voting two years later.
The Nationals traded him midway through the 2021 season to the Cards.
In 322 career appearances, the left-handed pitcher went 200-118 with a 3.66 earned run average and 2,488 strikeouts. He won three World Series titles and was named the NLCS' Most Valuable Player after allowing just two runs in 13 starts against the Dodgers.