A's Acquire Starting Pitcher Jon Lester, Outfielder Jonny Gomes

The Oakland Athletics have acquired three-time All-Star starting pitcher Jon Lester and outfielder/designated hitter Jonny Gomes and received cash considerations from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for All-Star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and the A's 2015 Competitive Balance Draft Pick, the team announced today. Corresponding 40-man and 25-man roster moves will be announced at a later time.

Lester, a 30-year-old left-hander who starred on Boston's World Series championship teams in 2007 and last year, brings the second-best winning percentage among American League active pitchers to Oakland. The Tacoma, Wash. native has posted a 110-63 record (.636) and 3.64 ERA in 242 games, 241 starts in nine Major League seasons, allowing 1426 hits in 1519.1 innings.   Lester went 76-34 (.691) from 2006-2011 for the Red Sox, which was the sixth highest winning percentage by an American League pitcher in their first six Major League seasons since 1901. His current 1,386 career strikeouts are the most by a left-handed pitcher in Boston franchise history.

He has registered a 10-7 record and 2.52 ERA in 21 games, all starts, for the last-place Red Sox this season. His ERA ranks fifth among American League starting pitchers. Lester, named an AL All-Star in 2010, 2011 and this year, has fanned 149 batters and walked only 32 in 143.0 innings pitched.   He has particularly shined in post-season play, having compiled the third-best ERA (30 innings min.) in Boston history, with his 1.97 figure only trailing Babe Ruth (0.87) and Ernie Shore (1.82). Last season, Lester recorded a 15-8 mark and 3.75 ERA in 33 starts, leading Boston in wins, starts, innings pitched and strikeouts. He is also an author of a no-hitter against Kansas City May 19, 2008 in Fenway Park, becoming the first Red Sox southpaw to accomplish that feat since Mel Parnell in 1956.

Gomes, a fan favorite in Oakland in 2012, returns to the Athletics for   a second time . The 11-year Major League veteran is a .244 career hitter with 147 doubles, 14 triples, 155 home runs and 495 RBI in 1,074 games. Thus far in 2014, he is batting .234 (49-209) with six homers, 32 RBI and 26 walks in 78 games.    During Boston's 2013 World Series championship season, the Petaluma, Calif. native hit .247 with 13 homers and 52 RBI in 116 games, and hit a game-winning three-run homer in the sixth inning of Game 4 of the World Series against St. Louis.

The 33-year-old outfielder played a pivotal role in Oakland's turnaround season in 2012, hitting .262 with 18 home runs, 47 RBI and a career-high .377 on-base percentage in 99 games for the AL West champions. He led the Major Leagues with a .480 batting average (12-for-25) with two outs and runners in scoring position, and his average of one home run every 15.5 at-bats ranked 10th in the American League.

Cespedes, named to the 2014 American League All-Star team, was batting .256 with 26 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs and 67 RBI in 101 games for the A's. He ranked among the AL leaders in extra-base hits (46, 6th-tied) and RBI (9th-tied). The Cuban native has batted .262 with 72 doubles, 12 triples, 66 home runs and 229 RBI in 365 games during his three seasons in Oakland.