Well, the Cleveland Indians obviously don't need Jose Canseco. The Tribe has landed spring training's last big prize, free agent outfielder Michael Bourn, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
According to Rosenthal, the deal is for four years and $48 million, with a $12 million option for a fifth year if Bourn reaches 550 plate appearances.
The speedy Bourn was a surprise free agent as pitchers and catchers reported. The Mets had been the favorites to land the 30-year-old, who was the eighth best free agent of 2012 on Yahoo! Sports' free-agent tracker.
Using WAR, Bourn's rating of 6.4 was 13th in all of baseball, higher even than fellow free agent B.J. Upton, who signed with the Atlanta Braves. Still, Bourn sat on the open market for longer than expected. People in the know assumed that agent Scott Boras was biding time and waiting for a team to make a big offer.
For the Indians, the Bourn signing puts the bow on what's been a surprisingly strong offseason. They signed Nick Swisher and Mark Reynolds and traded for Drew Stubbs and Trevor Bauer. The sum of those moves should make Cleveland contenders in the AL Central.
New manager Terry Francona is quoted in first-day spring training reports saying he's as proud as he's even been to put on an Indians uniform this season. Now he's got one more reason to beam.
Pitchers and catchers are reporting.
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