Contreras endorses Nationals signing Lester, takes shot at Cubs originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Nationals reportedly added to their stock of former Chicago Cubs to play under Davey Martinez on Monday, when they signed starter Jon Lester to a one-year deal.
Lester, 37, joins the Nationals after six years in Chicago, including the 2016 season that saw the Cubs snap a 108-year drought and win the World Series. With the Cubs now in the midst of what appears to be a teardown of that championship core, Lester has moved on to Washington.
Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, a teammate of Lester for the past five seasons, took to Instagram to voice his support for the Nationals taking a chance on the three-time champion.
Contreras has been the subject of trade rumors this offseason. He has two years left on his deal and swings the bat well (.814 career OPS) for his position. The two-time All-Star apparently doesn’t have an appetite for sticking through a rebuild, either.
Other former Cubs already in D.C. include leftfielder Kyle Schwarber (2015-20), who signed with the Nationals earlier this offseason, and second baseman Starlin Castro (2010-15). Martinez was the bench coach in Chicago under Joe Maddon from 2015 to 2017 before taking over as Nationals manager.
