Buster Olney discussed Jon Lester's future with the Boston Red Sox during a Wednesday afternoon appearance on WEEI.

Olney reported earlier this week that the Red Sox were making another run at signing Lester to a long-term contract. Boston reportedly offered the left-hander a four-year, $70 million deal in April.

“At some point recently, the Red Sox ... have been trying to get this thing, at least to get to a point where they're putting an offer on the table, but I think the horse is out the barn door," €�Olney said. "I think it's all but over that Jon Lester is going into free agency and I think the only way that they circumvent that is if the Red Sox do what the Phillies did two years ago with Cole Hamels and say, '€˜OK, sorry about that. We're totally wrong and we're willing to give you a top-of-the-market deal for [$140 million-$150 million],' and I think there's no chance of that happening.

"I think that the Red Sox [have made an] effort in the last couple of weeks to put an offer in front of him. The bottom line is that the situation has changed. ... If they had gone to him in spring training and said, 'Look, would you do something like five years and [$100 million-$110 million]?' which, within the context of Clayton Kershaw getting $215 million, Felix Hernandez getting $175 million, that would have been a nice, fair, team-friendly, middle-of-the-road deal, but that's not what they did."