News of Michael Bourn's four-year, $48MM deal with the Indians is still fresh in the air, but the Tribe wasn't the only team to extend him such an offer. Two sources have confirmed to Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Mets also made a four-year offer, which Sherman adds was also in the $48MM range but contained no options (Twitter links).
Of course, the Mets had far more hurdles to clear than just years and dollars. The team currently holds the No. 11 overall pick in this year's draft — the first pick that is unprotected from free agent compensation. General manager Sandy Alderson and his staff felt that because they finished with one of baseball's ten worst records, they were deserving of draft pick protection. However, the Pirates have a compensation pick due to their failure to sign No. 8 overall selection Mark Appel last season, which pushed the Mets out of the Top 10. The Mets were said to be pursuing an exception to the new CBA that would allow them to retain the No. 11 pick.
A Major League source told Sherman's colleague, Mike Puma, that the Mets were "definitely" Bourn's first choice, but the draft pick compensation issue would have taken two-to-three weeks to resolve. The two sides were down to small details such as the hotel rooms in which Bourn would stay on road trips, according to Puma (All links to Twitter).
Sherman adds that the Mets elected not to initiate the arbitration process to resolve the draft pick issue because they wanted a finalized agreement in place first. Having an agreement in place would keep agent Scott Boras from gaining extra leverage and drive up Bourn's price (Twitter links).
Ultimately, the allure of a fifth year and the certainty of Cleveland's offer looks to have enticed Bourn to pass up on his preference to play in the Big Apple.
