Michael Bourn signs with Indians

The Indians have signed Michael Bourn, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The contract is a 4-year, $48 million deal that has a fifth option year, reports Heyman.

The center fielder had slipped through the cracks of the offseason, and was rumored to be in talks with the Mets for the past few weeks. The Indians had been mentioned as a potential suitor for the 30-year-old.

The Mets were in on Bourn until the end, and even offered him four years, reports Joel Sherman of the NY Post.

Bourn is coming off a career year in which he hit .274 and stole 42 bases for Atlanta. He was surely expecting a larger payday than this, but is lucky at this point to get four years.

Any potential return to Atlanta was squashed by the Braves' acquisitions of brothers B.J. and Justin Upton.

Bourn started his career with the Phillies, but he bounced around, making stops in Houston and Atlanta, before landing in Cleveland.

The Indians have been very active this offseason, and after signing Bourn they might be a team that could surprise everyone and come out on top of the AL Central.