David Ross, who served as Lester’s catcher with both the Red Sox and Cubs, thinks the lefthander should get the call.
“I’m biased, but his postseason record is a difference-maker,” Ross said. “He was a role model, too, with how he came back from cancer.”
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It may take a few years, but Lester is a good candidate for enshrinement.
Lester played parts of nine seasons with the Sox and six with the Cubs. But he’s been more identified with the Cubs in retirement. The Hall has the final choice on the logo after consulting with the player.
A few other observations on the Red Sox:
▪ Tracy mentioned in Detroit that the Sox will give Ceddanne Rafaela some pregame work at second base in case they want to use him there.
What an indictment of the roster that would be. Rafaela is one of the best center fielders in the game. Putting him at second base to accommodate one of the extra outfielders would weaken two up-the-middle positions defensively.
Roman Anthony going on the injured list makes that move far less likely in the near future. But the logjam will again be a problem once he returns.
▪ The Sox went into the weekend with a 48 percent success rate on ABS challenges. That was fifth worst in the majors. They were 50 percent on fielder challenges, which have all been by the catchers. Only the Nationals (45 percent) and White Sox (41) have been worse.
Carlos Narváez was 6 of 16, and Connor Wong 5 of 6.
Tracy said he and the coaches have been talking to the players about being more judicious about challenges. They also need to be more cognizant about leverage. Narváez has had four unsuccessful challenges in the first or second inning.
On the hitter side, Willson Contreras (1 for 4) hasn’t figured it out yet. That Rafaela (2 for 5) is the most frequent challenger among Sox hitters is interesting when you consider his free-swinging ways.
▪ Will Carroll, who tracks MLB injuries, reported the Sox are advertising for a “seasonal assistant athletic trainer” who would be assigned to Triple-A Worcester for the remainder of the season or possibly in Fort Myers following the amateur draft in June.
The listing reads, “Chosen candidates should expect a great learning opportunity in an advancing field of evidence-based practice while gaining valuable experience working within a professional sports medicine team.”
The team is paying $15 an hour, which is the minimum wage in Massachusetts.
That’s $7 less than CVS is paying store associates at its location near Fenway Park and $3 less than McDonald’s is paying maintenance workers in East Boston. That job description includes cleaning the restrooms.
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.