Report: Mystery Team In On Jon Lester

According to a report, there is another entrant in the ring in the Jon Lester free-agency sweepstakes. The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs were known to be in pursuit.

Venerable baseball reporter Peter Gammons reported there is now a mystery team in the running to sign left-hander Jon Lester.

Laugh @"mystery teams," surprise
but 3 GMs think there is a serious new entrant on Lester. Must
work with Pediatric Cancer Foundation
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) December 2, 2014

The Boston Red Sox, who traded Lester to the Oakland Athletics at the non-waiver deadline July 31, and the Chicago Cubs, run by former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, are known to be after Lester.

The mystery team, however, is … well … a mystery.

More from MLB

The pediatric cancer angle pertains to Lester’s “NVRQT” initiative to fight children’s cancer, a cause close to his heart after his own recovery from non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2006.

Seattle is home to the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research and, of course, the Pediatric Cancer Foundation is headquartered in Mamaroneck, N.Y., just north of the Bronx.

There is a baseball team in the Bronx that has been known to spend big on free agents, isn’t there?

Lester was a combined 16-11 last season in 32 starts, with a 2.46 ERA and 1.102 WHIP in 219.2 innings—a career-high. He struck out 220 hitters.

After being traded to Oakland, he went 6-4 with a 2.35 ERA and 1.070 WHIP in 11 starts covering 76.2 innings. He started and took no-decision in the A’s Wild Card Playoff loss to the Kansas City Royals, allowing six runs on eight hits in 7.1 innings.

Lester is a three-time All-Star and finished fourth in the American League Cy Young Award voting last season.

According to a report, there is another entrant in the ring in the Jon Lester free-agency sweepstakes. The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs were known to be in pursuit.

More from FanSided