Jason Bay

Rob Bradford reports that the Red Sox and free-agent-to-be Jason Bay still haven't had any contract discussions since late March. Bradford states that Boston's last offer was somewhere in the $10MM per season range, while Bay and his agent were looking for something in the $14MM range. Additionally, the Red Sox didn't offer the 3-4 years Bay would be seeking.

Perhaps Bay's absolutely monster start has made the Red Sox reconsider that offer – he's off to an incredible .301/.433/.657 start. He's also second in the American League to Carlos Pena with 13 HR, and second in all of baseball to Evan Longoria in RBI at 44.

Even if the Red Sox have reconsidered, will the Bay camp up their demands or possibly decide to test the market in light of his elite production so far in 2009?

According to Amalie Benjamin and Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe, Jason Bay's agent Joe Urbon says contract talks have not resumed with the Red Sox.  Urbon said he hasn't even talked to Bay.

WEEI's Alex Speier talked extensively with Bay on April 23rd; check that out here.

WEEI's Alex Speier talked extensively with Red Sox left fielder Jason Bay, who is eligible for free agency for the first time after this season.  Speier learned that the models for Bay's four-year, $18.25MM deal signed in '05 were the Brewers' deals with Geoff Jenkins and Richie Sexson.  In hindsight, Bay could've earned more going year-to-year, but he has no regrets.  Bay noted that one benefit of that deal is that it did not include option years.

Bay's agent hasn't had substantive extension talks with the Red Sox, but he remains unconcerned.  Bay's stance:

"My agents and the company put together a big fancy package and all that stuff. I’ve seen the numbers. But I understand that it’s a completely different economic time, and that there are some concessions. That being said, I’ve played the game for six years.  I’m not looking to set any records. I’m basically looking for what’s fair. Whether it’s here or not remains to be seen. I’m not trying to set a precedent."

12:40pm: Rob Bradford of WEEI.com has Jason Bay’s side of the story:

“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… 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.”

Bay is making no predictions about the market:

"Like I said, if something comes up that makes some sense … I mean, you get to this position you don’t want to sell it short, but I also understand it’s a different time that it was three or four years ago.”

12:30pm: Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe has an explanation from Theo Epstein:

"The market has changed so much from two years ago to this winter, from a year ago to now… 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 dialogue throughout the course of the season."

11:59am: Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports the Red Sox have halted negotiations with Jason Bay. Both sides feel an agreement is not possible at this time, after the market for power-hitting corner outfielders has experienced dramatic changes.

Speier says the two sides remain open to discussion resuming during the season. Bay will make $7.5MM during the final year of his 4 year $18.25MM contract.