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Bay To Listen To Offers After Red Sox Exclusivity Period Expires

By Administrator | November 20, 2009

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When midnight passed last night, Jason Bay became a ‘true’ free agent… he can now talk with any team that is interested in securing his services for the next several seasons.

The Sox and Bay’s agent, Joe Urbon, have been discussing a new contract for nearly a year… talks have ended abruptly on two occasions but the sides have continued to talk intermittently in the hope of reaching an agreement.

According to cnnsi.com, the left fielder rejected a four-year, $60 million contract offer from the Red Sox… published reports indicate he is seeking a five-year deal in the vicinity of $80 - $85 million.

According to Urbon, there is ample interest in Bay: “Without getting into numbers of clubs, there’s been… an ‘extraordinary’ level of interest. There hasn’t been any surprise in the clubs that have contacted us”.

Of negotiations with the Red Sox, Urbon said the talks have gone “no differently than they’ve gone over the past several months, since spring training. They’ve been candid and they’ve been direct… and based on what Theo (Epstein) and I have talked about, what he has said publicly, what I have said publicly, I have no doubt that dialogue will continue”.

It’s just that now Urbon will be MUCH busier… Urbon will be talking with a number of teams.

Bay hit .267, with 36 HR and 119 RBI for the Red Sox last season… if he is not re-signed there will be a huge hole in the middle of a Red Sox lineup that DH David Ortiz has already declared needs another power hitter IN ADDITION TO Bay.

Bay has said, on many occasions, that he has enjoyed his time in Boston and would like to return… but after the Red Sox failed to sign him by Opening Day last season it seemed a foregone conclusion that he would test the free agent waters.

Of course, Bay’s game seems particularly well-suited to playing in Boston — both offensively and defensively. If he takes the money and runs, it is possible he will live to regret that decision (a la Freddy Lynn and Bruce Hurst).

It says here that the Red Sox have blown the Bay negotiations up to this point… it will be interesting to see whether they can pull a rabbit from the hat this time around.

Topics: Sox Front Office, Sox Players, SoxTransactions |

One Response to “Bay To Listen To Offers After Red Sox Exclusivity Period Expires”

  1. Kipp Ryan Says:
    November 21st, 2009 at 8:21 am

    Although I like the pop that Bay brings to the offence, as well as his ability to field the Monster I would like some better pop with a better average. Bay is nothing better than a .275 (TOPS) hitter. We need someone who is FEARED in the line up (al la Manny).

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