The belief around baseball is that Jon Lester is unlikely to re-sign with the Boston Red Sox, who traded him to the Oakland Athletics last month, this offseason.

The Red Sox weren't able to come to terms with Lester on a long-term deal that would have kept him in Boston, which makes an agreement while other teams are bidding hard for him unlikely.

A return by Lester to Boston was dubbed a "long shot" by league officials who have familiarity with the situation.