[Hairps]

Quote

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said that, after substantive conversations with outfielder Jason Bay (and his representatives) about the possibility of a contract extension this spring, the two sides have concluded that an agreement is not possible at this time. The Sox and Bay will disengage from discussions for the rest of the spring, though the two sides remain open to resuming conversations over the course of the season.

The reason for the inability to come to an agreement was a dramatically changing market for the services of power-hitting corner outfielders. This offseason, that market seemed to collapse, with players such as Pat Burrell (two years, $16 million), Adam Dunn (two years, $20 million) and Bobby Abreu (one year, $5 million) all getting much less than the market would have suggested in past offseasons.

Bay is entering the final year of a four-year, $18.25 million deal he signed with the Pirates before the 2006 season. He is due to receive $7.5 million for the coming year.

http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/ba...sing-extension/

This post has been edited by Hairps: 15 March 2009 - 11:40 AM

[Hairps]

Theo:

Quote

"The market has changed so much from two years ago to this winter, from a year ago to now," Epstein said. "Who knows where it's going to be a year from now? So that unpredictability, I think, has created a landscape that's been difficult for us to navigate in terms of getting an extension done a year early. Both sides wanted it, so we tried. But both sides recognized that it's just too difficult to get done right now.

"We had some talks [earlier in the offseason], but they weren't really substantive. Recently, we've had more substantive talks. It's become clear that because of the unusual marketplace, we're not going to get anything done during spring training. We're going to sort of halt talks for now, just table them. But both sides have committed to maintaining good dialouge throughout the course of the season."

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...xtension_t.html

Bay:

Quote

“I don’t think anybody in my situation wants to play for six years and then you earn the right to be a free agent and on some levels sell yourself short, and that doesn’t mean there doesn’t have to be some concessions,” Bay said. “But you put yourself in this position and I think it’s in my best interest to kind of explore. Not to say we’re ever going to go that far, but I definitely want to make sure it’s the right fit.”

http://fullcount.weei.com/

[SoxinSeattle]

This is great news. Not locking him up now keeps him hungry in his contract year and the Sox get a little more time to see how he does in Boston. From the sounds of JB's quotes he is excited to be in a contract year and hopefully the Sox can reap the benefits and then sign him to a fair deal later this year.

[yecul]

Understandable. It must be difficult for a player like Bay to see big contracts get thrown around and then watch the economy fall apart leading to much lower offers/deals being made.

What does he have to lose? Boston isn't going anywhere and neither is their (likely low-ish) offer. Market improves and he becomes a free agent and lands himself more money. Market doesn't and he still ends up with a smaller/shorter deal than he originally wanted.

[hair and cheese]

I'd like to see what Bay does this year before making a big financial commitment to him. Part of what makes him so nice to have on the roster is his current salary. It's hard to tell how bad the economy is going to hit baseball. After the season, between free agency and Theos ability to bend over a team with financial woes, there might just be a better option than Bay. If Bay does hit free agency, it could come down to a bidding war with the Yanks.

This post has been edited by hair and cheese: 16 March 2009 - 07:23 AM

[Quintanariffic]

I'm really not looking forward to the Yankees 2010 starting OF of Bay, Austin Jackson and Matt Holliday.