There is somebody the Red Sox need even more than Jon Lester.

That somebody is the next Jon Lester.

Key distinguishing features would be somebody drafted or signed by the Red Sox, in his 20s, lefty or righty with three “plus” pitches, a sturdy body — the bigger the better but not a deal-breaker — and with the mentality of a cold-eyed killer, somebody who could anchor the No. 1 spot in the rotation for years to come.

If only the Red Sox had an idea as to the identity of the pitcher. And where he is in his development. And whether or not he is even in their system right now.

If so, they may not have ever had to enter the Lester sweepstakes with the intensity and near-desperation as they have this offseason.

Given that they likely already received the best years of Lester’s career, the Red Sox understand that any long-term contract with Lester in his early and then mid-30s would likely capture only a few seasons that approach or maybe even match his peak as a Red Sox.

That’s not a knock or anything like the pre-Twitter bomb Red Sox general manger Dan Duquette threw at then-free agent Roger Clemens when he sent the Rocket off to the Blue Jays and into the “twilight” of his career at the age of 34. Clemens went on to capture four more Cy Young Awards, an incredible late-career surge that has prompted its fair share of scrutiny and skepticism.

But Lester represents the last purebred Red Sox ace since Clemens. That means there was a 19-year gap between Clemens being drafted in 1983 and the selection of Lester in 2002 during which the Red Sox were unable to draft or sign and then develop into their own rotation-leading stalwart.

Lester wound up giving nearly nine full seasons that were the best years by a homegrown Red Sox pitcher since Clemens left behind his 13-season masterpiece.

But outside of Clemens and Lester, since the 1950s and into the final month of 2014, it’s been mainly crickets heard from the Red Sox when it comes to developing an “ace”-like pitcher and then reaping the benefits of that ace.

The WAR stat is a useful metric to measure value to a team, and Clemens sits atop the club’s all-time pitching leaderboard with an unworldly 81.3 WAR.

The next closest is Pedro Martinez at 53.8 WAR, but Martinez, like Luis Tiant (No. 3, 36.4) and Tim Wakefield (No. 4, 32.6), was an import.

Lester left the Sox with a 30.7 WAR, No. 5 on the club’s all-time list, and his production, like Clemens’, stands out like a sore thumb, especially when the results of any homegrown Red Sox pitchers over the last 30 and 40 years are compared to Lester and Clemens.

There’s nobody else like those two.

In the post-Lester drafts, Jonathan Papelbon, selected in 2003, is the next best homegrown product at No. 18 all-time on the Red Sox’ list with his 16.2 WAR, but he was primarily a reliever — an excellent reliever, but let’s not overvalue a closer compared to a starter. The fact that Papelbon’s total WAR is not much more than half of Lester’s speaks to that fact.

Beyond Lester, the next best pitcher the Red Sox have produced this century is Clay Buchholz (2005 draft), No. 21 in the club’s WAR rankings at 12.9. Buchholz’ disappointing durability issues do not offer much hope that he will ever become the next Lester or get that close.

If in this discussion you want to count Curt Schilling, who was drafted by the Red Sox in 1986 and then traded away as a prospect, go ahead, but his contributions after arriving in 2004 land him 17th on the all-time WAR list at 17.8.

Who was the best purebred Red Sox signed or drafted from the 1950s?

Bill Monbouquette (No. 12, 21.1 WAR).

Who was the best from the 1960s?

Bill Lee (No. 15, 18.9 WAR).

The 1970s?

Bob Stanley, a starter before he became a reliever, (No. 8, 23.8 WAR); and Bruce Hurst (No. 13, 19.7 WAR).

The 1980’s?

Oil Can Boyd (No. 22, 12.8 WAR).

The 1990s?

Try Aaron Sele (No. 34, 8.6 WAR).

Get the picture?

Clemens set his own unique standard, but Lester established one of his own and nobody has been able to approach it. Clemens is unlike all but a dozen or so starters in baseball history to be sure, but he and Lester, separated by 19 years, stand alone as the two best pitchers the Red Sox franchise ever produced, dating back to forever, even the 1940s and 1950s, when Mel Parnell and Frank Sullivan were in their heyday.

With the exception of Clemens and Lester, the Red Sox have thrived on imports of the caliber of Martinez, Tiant, Wakefield, Schilling, Josh Beckett, Dennis Eckersley and Derek Lowe for the best pitching performances.

This is not a “buy domestic” screed. There’s nothing wrong with imports, but look at the domestic position players the Red Sox have been able to groom and then ride since the middle of last century: Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, Dwight Evans, Carlton Fisk, Mo Vaughn, Nomar Garciaparra, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia.

Is Henry Owens, Brian Johnson or Matt Barnes going to wind up having a career with the Red Sox that will approach what Lester gave, never mind a Buchholz or Hurst or Boyd?

Perhaps Trey Ball, Michael Kopech or Teddy Stankiewicz?

Or maybe the next Jon Lester or Roger Clemens will get drafted in June?

The Red Sox really can’t say for sure, which is why they have had to go so hard after Lester again this winter.

Wherever the next Lester, or near-Lester, is coming from, the Red Sox would love to meet him and the sooner, the better.

He’s been missing — long-gone and hard-to-find — since anyone can remember.

But the Red Sox keep looking for him.

PEDROIA WINS AGAIN

The Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America has selected Pedroia for its 2014 Jackie Jensen Award.

This marks the second time that the Red Sox second baseman has received the Jensen Award, which annually honors a major league figure who exemplifies the extraordinary spirit and determination of its namesake, the late Sox outfielder from the ’50s.

Jensen starred for the Red Sox from 1954-59 and 1961. Pedroia first won the award in 2011

The chapter’s annual awards dinner, hosted by the Sports Museum, is set for Jan. 22 at BU’s Agganis Arena. Tickets, priced at $200, may be purchased by contacting Renee Fraker at the Sports Museum at 617-624-1231.

MLB AHEAD OF CURVE

Not to suggest that baseball players get involved in domestic violence or sexual issues at a lesser clip than football players, but they sure have dodged the limelight a lot more. With the leadership of executive and Hall of Famer Joe Torre, who suffered through domestic abuse as a child, MLB and the players union are working on a new policy complete with disciplinary measures for guilty players.

According to Torre, MLB has hired San Francisco-based Futures Without Violence to “develop and implement training and education programs for all of our players.” It also has met with national and local organizations to develop educational material for teams and players next spring, and it has hired an expert to address teams at this week’s winter meetings in San Diego.