<div id="subtitle">Outfielder Mike Cameron finalizes $15.5 million, 2-year contract with Red Sox</div><div><p>Mike Cameron remembers some advice Terry Francona passed on as a hitting coach when the outfielder was in a rookie league.</p><p>"He always used to tell us that if you can't figure this out now, a little bit of it now, while you're learning," Cameron said Wednesday, "then you will be one of the prime candidates to be working at 7-11."</p><p>Now, nearly 20 years later, Cameron will be entering his 15th major league season and his first playing for Francona, his new manager with the Boston Red Sox.</p><p>The three-time Gold Glove winner who became a free agent after two seasons in Milwaukee finalized a $15.5 million, two-year contract. He gets a $1 million signing bonus and annual salaries of $7.25 million.</p><p>"I've seen him go from kind of a raw, very athletic, likable 18-year-old to a guy that's played and had a great career," Francona said.</p><p>The addition of Cameron is part of Boston's offseason emphasis on preventing runs. Another part of the retooling was to add right-hander John Lackey, the top pitcher in the free agent market. He completed an agreement on a five-year contract worth $82.5 million.</p><p>"Mike is a big part of our offseason puzzle," general manager Theo Epstein said.</p><p>Francona said he would take a week or so to consider where Cameron would play. Jacoby Ellsbury was the center fielder last year but he or Cameron could shift to left field as a replacement for free agent Jason Bay, who appears headed elsewhere.</p><p>"I don't want to say that the door is officially closed on any one player out there who's a free agent," Epstein said, "but Jason, obviously, in his year and a half here did an outstanding job for us."</p><p>Cameron batted .250 with 24 homers and 70 RBIs for the Brewers last year and is joining his seventh major league team.</p><p>"It's a pretty special moment because I haven't really been this excited about coming somewhere since I first came to the big leagues," he said. "This is one of those historical parks that you get a chance to play in and, hopefully, put a couple of dents in the (Green) Monster."</p><p>The 36-year-old Cameron has a .250 career batting average with 265 homers and 936 RBIs. But Epstein said he played mostly in large ballparks and should benefit from the short left-field wall in Fenway Park.</p><p>"He's going to hit 25 homers every year," Epstein said. "He's an underrated offensive player."</p><p>Francona managed Cameron in Class A and Double-A.</p><p>"He was the first guy to tell me that I was going to the big leagues," Cameron said. "He did tell me one day that I was going to play for him, but I never believed it until the opportunity presented itself today."</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=65577168&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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