ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With a 48-57 record, the Boston Red Sox could receive plenty of phone calls as the trade deadline approaches. Saturday’s trade of Jake Peavy to the San Francisco Giants for minor league pitchers Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree might not be the only change to the roster.
David Ortiz said he heard Jon Lester’s name mentioned, but he hopes the All-Star left-hander remains in Boston.
“I think he’s one of the best pitchers in the game,” Ortiz said. “And making a move like that could mean a lot of things.”
At 38 years old, Ortiz wouldn’t be thrilled about being part of a rebuilding project, and while the Red Sox haven’t mentioned conceding the season yet, the idea of trading Lester concerns him.
“I try not to think about any of it,” Ortiz said before Boston’s 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, a victory that snapped the Red Sox’s five-game losing streak. “I just hope it doesn’t happen.”
Although Lester will be a free agent at the end of the season, the Red Sox could demand a solid package of prospects from a playoff-hopeful team looking to add a major piece to the rotation even if it were for just 10-12 starts.
Through 21 starts this year, Lester is 10-7 with a 2.52 ERA.
NOTES:Ortiz hit his fifth home run of the Red Sox’s seven-game road swing Sunday; 19 of his 25 home runs this season came on the road. “I’m starting to get a good feeling back after sitting around for the All-Star break,” he said. Ortiz traditionally tortures the Rays. He has 151 RBIs against the Rays and 29 home runs at Tropicana Field — the most of any visiting player. … Right-handed pitcher Allen Webster recorded the second victory of his career in his season debut, going 5 1/3 innings and giving up three hits and two runs to Tampa Bay. “He did as well as we could have expected, and as a bullpen we wanted to close out the game for him,” said Red Sox LHP Andrew Miller, who pitched the seventh inning.