The Los Angeles Dodgers want Jon Lester. And they’re about to make a serious push.

According to a major league source, the Dodgers have identified Lester as a prime free agent target, and multiple teams involved in the chase believe there’s a chance Los Angeles makes an offer that blows away the field.

That could be bad news for the Red Sox in their attempts to sign their former ace. Even if they’re willing to bid as high as $140 million to bring Lester back, and there’s no guarantee they are, the Dodgers are capable of making that figure look very small.

Los Angeles could give Lester $160 million and end the bidding today. The only hope for the Red Sox would be Lester’s choosing the comfort and familiarity of Boston over a new start on the West Coast, which the Georgia resident seemingly has little attachment to despite hailing from Washington state.

It’s not yet known what the Dodgers are planning to offer, but even more than the Yankees, Los Angeles is the team whose arrival in a free agent negotiation makes rivals quake.

MARINERS: Seattle finalized a four-year deal with Nelson Cruz, adding a needed right-handed power hitter.

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Cruz led the major leagues with 40 home runs last season and had 108 RBI for Baltimore, which signed him to an $8 million, one-year deal. He served a 50-game suspension in 2013 for violations of the major league drug agreement in relation to the Biogenesis investigation.

CUBS: The Commission on Chicago Landmarks has approved changes the team made to its Wrigley Field renovation plan in an effort to obtain a possible federal tax credit.

Cubs officials went before the panel Thursday to get a thumbs up for a plan to move some of the outfield ad signage for which it won city approval in July.

The latest changes include eliminating a 650-foot sign in left field and swapping locations of a video board and a 650-foot sign in right field. The right-field video board would be smaller. The left-field video board would move closer to the center-field scoreboard.

The changes could mean the Cubs could receive up to $75 million in tax credits. Wrigley Field is undergoing a privately funded $575 million renovation.

MLB EXECUTIVES: Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre will become Major League Baseball’s chief baseball officer as part of incoming commissioner Rob Manfred’s reorganization of some top jobs in the sport.

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Torre will be the main contact between the office and general managers, managers and umpires for on-field matters.

Manfred is set to take over for Bud Selig on Jan. 25.

ROYALS: Right-hander Luke Hochevar agreed to $10 million, two-year contract that includes a mutual option for 2017.

The former No. 1 draft pick is coming off Tommy John surgery that caused him to miss last season, and it is unclear how quickly he will be back at full strength.


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