ESPN New York Points Out Pros and Cons of Yankees Signing Jon Lester

ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand has pointed out the pros and cons of the Yankees possibly signing Jon Lester this offseason.

First the pros, which include Lester's reputation as a dominant postseason starter and the fact that he'd likely fit in well next to Masahiro Tanaka.

"Lester is coming off arguably his best season in the majors, which has included many good ones," Marchand wrote. "He basically throws 200 innings every season. All in all, he is an experienced top-of-the-rotation starter. There is a lot to like. "

Not many people disagree with that. Nonetheless, since a long-term deal would lock in Lester into his mid-30s Marchand warns that getting him might not be worth it, citing the other aging stars the Yankees currently have as reasons for his caution.

"The Yankees have been down this path before," he said. "These large contracts that extend into a player's mid-30s are often bad toward the middle and end. Between Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez, expectations will likely be dulled for the aging Yankees going into 2015. To continue this cycle has a definite downside because Lester may not age well in pinstripes."

Despite making that argument, in the end, Marchand concluded that the Yankees should make a run at the lefty, but opined that they should do so with a length limit. Lester, 30, has gone 116-67 with a 3.58 ERA since 2006, numbers that seemingly represent a good amount of talent.