Canseco Ready For Return To A’S

Jose Canseco is not yet a member of the A’s and won’t be until he passes a routine physical exam today in Florida, but he already is talking about finishing his career in Oakland.

“Oh sure,” Canseco said. “I can see myself playing there (in Oakland) until I’m 38, 39 or 40 years old.

“The only thing holding me back are these nagging injuries. I just have to stay away from them. But right now, after the back surgery, I feel great, better than I have in 10 years.

“Hopefully, I’ve still got my best years ahead of me.”

Five or six years ago, if Canseco had mentioned playing for the A’s until he was 40, general manager Sandy Alderson might have taken early retirement.

But Saturday, Alderson was in a different place - “I think that’s a very positive statement,” he said.

Alderson, very simply, was in a good mood, the reported A’s trade that will send 24-year-old right-hander John Wasdin to Boston for the 32-year-old designated hitter having leaked out and into consciousness of the baseball world.

“Seriously,” he said, “this kind of deal puts us back on the baseball map. There’s nothing worse than being irrelevant, and when you’re in a rebuilding process, that tends to happen.”

And Alderson didn’t discount a suggestion the trade would help contract negotiations with Mark McGwire, who is in the final year of his five-year contract.

Disenchanted by the loss of free agents Terry Steinbach and Mike Bordick, McGwire has said he wanted to see the A’s make some positive moves this winter.