Why Lester is excited to be ‘fly on wall' in Nats rotation

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A little over six years ago, the Cubs signed Jon Lester to a six-year, $155 million deal. It was the first sign of their rebuild being credible, as Lester attracted other prominent free agents to the North Side.

The Cubs added Lester to be their ace and rotation anchor, and with his extensive postseason experience to come up big in October. He lived up to that billing and then some, helping the Cubs make five postseason appearances during his tenure and win it all in 2016.

Fast forward to Wednesday, when Lester’s one-year deal with the Nationals became official. After six seasons in Chicago, the veteran lefty is looking forward to a taking on a new challenge in Washington's rotation.

“I’ll tell you what, it’s going to be nice to sit back and watch these guys work,” Lester told reporters in his introductory Zoom session. “Obviously I’ve seen them from afar and got to compete against them for a long time. I’m excited to work with them.”

Whether he's the Nationals No. 4 or 5 starter, the guys Lester is referring to are Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin. If you're keeping score at home, that's a three-time Cy Young Award winner and seven-time All-Star, a three-time All-Star and World Series MVP, and a two-time All-Star.

You can see why former teammate Ian Happ said last week adding Lester and his wealth of experience to a rotation as a fourth or fifth starter is "dangerous."

RELATED: Lester: ‘There’s no hard feelings’ between him, Cubs

Lester has plenty of pedigree himself as a 15-year veteran, but he’s looking forward to learning from his new rotation mates. He’s gotten to know Scherzer through the years — the two joined the National League in 2015 after signing lucrative deals with the Cubs and Nationals — but he doesn’t know Strasburg and Corbin that well yet.

“I get to see how they prepare for each start,” he said. “I’m excited to dig into their minds and see how they prepare and really just stay out of the way. 

“I want to be kind of a fly on the wall with this rotation and just try to help out as best I can.”

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