Ken Rosenthal is reporting that there is a mystery team making a move on free agent ace Cliff Lee.
I don't know this for sure, but I'm guessing there is one team - maybe even more than one - making a stealth run at the free-agent left-hander, refusing to accept the conventional wisdom that he will sign with the Yankees or Rangers.
There often are mystery teams on major free agents, and not simply random, illusory threats. Sometimes we learn the identities of these clubs after the fact, sometimes not. But the free-agent season is known for surprises.
Rosenthal goes onto list five teams that he considers possibilities to be the dark horses in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes: the Phillies, Angels, Tigers, White Sox and Reds.
It's difficult to imagine any of those teams making legitimate runs at Lee and becoming a threat to either Texas or New York, but Rosenthal thinks it's possible.
The Winter Meetings are set to kick off on Monday, December 6 and last through December 9th. It should be clear during or after the meetings where Lee is leaning towards signing, and he may end up signing this week as well.