Red Sox trade rumors: Pirates, Cardinals, Dodgers still in pursuit of Jon Lester

With roughly fifteen hours to go before the non-waiver trade deadline, Jon Lester is still the hottest name on the market. According to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOXSports.com, the Cardinals and Pirates are currently making the strongest bids in the Lester sweepstakes, with the Dodgers also remaining involved. Morosi says that a deal could be completed by tonight.

Earlier on Wednesday it appeared that the Orioles were the frontrunners to land Lester, as reports indicated that Baltimore was in "advanced talks" involving the southpaw, but recent reports have stated that the Orioles' chances of landing him have disintegrated throughout the day. The Athletics, Blue Jays, Mariners and Marlins have also been mentioned as possible Lester destinations, but it now appears that St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles are the three most likely spots for him to land.

The Cardinals would be an interesting fit for Lester after bolstering their rotation by acquiring Justin Masterson earlier in the day, and Morosi says that they may have to give up right-hander Shelby Miller to in a deal with the Red Sox. It is currently unclear whether or not the Cards would be willing to discuss outfield prospect Stephen Piscotty in trade talks, and the Red Sox have previously been linked to Allen Craig and Rowan Wick in talks with St. Louis.

The Dodgers have shown that they are unwilling to discuss top prospects Kyle Seager, Joc Pederson and Julio Urias, meaning that it may be hard for them to add a player of Lester's caliber. They could hypothetically include Andre Ethier in a deal, and have prospects like Chris Anderson and Zach Lee to float in talks as well. The Pirates could look to deal from their strong farm system to acquire Lester, having players like Josh Bell, Austin Meadows, Nick Kingham and Alen Hanson potentially available.