Head over to Big League Stew for a Q&A with Jason Bay.
An excerpt…
BLS: Who have you been hanging out with down here?
Bay: David (Wright), a little bit. Francoeur, of course. He gets along with everybody. Alex Cora I know from Boston and is a great guy. Shawn Bowman is also Canadian and we have an instant bond. I played on the Canadian WBC team with him and given all the hockey that's transpired lately, we've been close.
-Jerry Manuel on Jason Bay
Jason Bay
Omar Minaya
Jeff Wilpon
Here is the breakdown of Jason Bay’s contract with the Mets. Four years – with a fifth-year vesting option – worth $66 million ($80 million with vesting option).
Signing bonus: $8.5 million.
2010 salary: $6.5 million.
2011 salary: $16 million.
2012 salary: $16 million.
2013 salary: $16 million.
2014 vesting option details: 600 plate appearances in 2013 or 500 plate appearances in both the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
2014 salary: $17 million (or $3 million buyout).
Full no-trade clause.
Jason Bay, No. 44, jerseys are now for sale on Mets.com.
Here are some fans reactions on the Jason Bay deal going official…
AndrewLiv: Love it, they needed a power bat, and got the player they wanted for their price.
Jbones72: if they can swing a deal for a good pitcher i'll love it!
alansmodic: From a Pirates fan. I think Mets overpaid. After a year and a half, maybe sooner, they'll be wishing he was gone.
GermanMetsFan: hmm like the upgrade of the offense and that something got done finally, not sure if i like the 5yrs
DWrightGuy5: JayBay's signing shows Omar is actually good at playing chicken. Bengie ran scared to his mommy since he's losing his battle.
cutiepie0319k: i like the signing of jason bay. i know it's not going to fix their problems but they are finally making moves.
mtmcq: They needed a bat, and they went out and got a bat. They also didn't break the bank by signing Holliday. I like it.
michealnichols: Good deal for the first two years. My concern lies in years 3, 4 & 5 where I think holliday will be better.
kerelcoop: good signing but ultimately he won't be the difference maker in the success of this team. They still need pitching.
DonCheech: I am happy with it. Got a legitimate middle of the order bat
DanPirozzi: i'm not a huge fan of it, but it's better to do this than nothing at all which is what it seemed like
What are your thoughts on the signing? Hit the comments to discuss.
Your thoughts?
Jason Bay and the Mets have one obstacle between getting ink onto the dotted line: His physical.
Today, Bay will be checked out by Mets doctors and medical staff to see if he’s healthy and if the Mets still want to pay him $66 million over four years.
As I alluded to, and has been mentioned a few times since, this is no slam dunk. Bay hasn’t really missed a lot of time due to injuries (at least 145 games each year since ‘05), but he’s on the wrong side of 30 and has shown some wear and tear over the years.
His knees and possibly his arm/shoulder could be points of contention.
In the end, I think Bay will pass the physical. If the Mets do happen to find anything, the contract might be adjusted slightly, but not by much.
The press conference announcing the signing and showing him off for the media and fans, if all goes according to plan, will be tomorrow.
As the Mets have recently signed Jason Bay, it’s time to give him a nickname duri ng his likely five-year stint in New York.
So, fine readers, what should be Bay’s nickname? Hit the comments to discuss.
Update – 3:12 p.m.: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnik believes with the fifth-year vesting option, the deal could be worth just north of $80 million.
Update – 3:05 p.m.: Joel Sherman has contract details. Four-years, $66 million. “Easy vest” for fifth year, meaning a vesting option which Bay will likely achieve. Think of it as a five-year deal.
Update – 3:03 p.m.: Jon Heyman confirms the agreement.
Jason Bay has agreed to a deal with the New York Mets, according to WFAN. Bay still has to pass a physical.
The terms of the contract were not readily available. The Mets do have a four-year, $65 million contract offer extended to Bay.
The deal will be announced next week, according to WFAN.
Not that I think they’ll find anything to cancel the contract, but don’t think this is a done deal. There may be an issue with Bay’s knees and they could alter the contact after the physical.
In short: They’ve agreed in principle, but it’s not done yet.
Ahem, I’m not alone.
Hey Jason Bay,
I know you want a lot of money and a nice big contract, probably the last “big” contract of your career, but if you ever want to be welcome in New York City if you sign with the Mets, you better hurry up and put some ink on paper.
Just letting you know it’s a rough world out there for Mets fans. We’re reeling after three disappointing seasons and we just watched the Phillies and the Yankees win the last two World Series. Not fun.
Mets fans are getting antsy, though. The biggest move the team has made this offseason is signing Ryota Igarashi. Yeah, exactly.
Though it might be a good signing, it’s done nothing to appease fans.
They’re simply chomping at the bit to see their team improve on paper. You signing would quell this bubbling anger.
You’ll be welcome by most fans here in New York. Many fans want you here very badly. So just a suggestion: If you want to play here and not be booed mercilessly through your first 150 at bats, I would get your John Hancock down quick.
And then apologize to fans for making them wait. I know many are already quite angry.
Anyway, hope to see you in orange and blue fairly soon. (But hopefully not for five more years)
Oh, and work on your defense a bit, would you? Thanks.
Sincerely,
Andrew Vazzano
The Mets are in “serious” talks for Jason Bay, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi.
The Mets are contemplating adding a fifth year to the original four-year, $65 million offer. They may also sign him for four years but more money.
I’d much rather see the Mets dip into the pocket and get Bay to sign for more money and a shorter contract. I think the Mets have the money to spend and would rather see the Mets on the hook for the 31-year-old Bay for a shorter amount of time.
But how do you feel? Take the poll below…
Thanks to the tip from Nick Migliore on Twitter.
According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Mets have tweaked the offer to Jason Bay.
“Minaya is thought to have offered a five-year deal (at slightly lower dollars per year than the original four-year offer for close to $65 million), but with Bay still believed to be seeking a six-year deal from them,” Heyman writes.
The deal for Bay might have to be worth $75 million over five years.
With Bay now looking like less of a bargain, the Mets might rethink getting in on the Matt Holliday discussion, according to Heyman.
(It should be noted, as it is very much so on Twitter, that Heyman and Holliday’s agent, Mr. Scott Boras, are quite close. This could be an inside job to create a bigger market for Holliday. No one else is reporting that the Mets are in talks with Boras for Holliday.)
Buster Olney of ESPN writes that the Mets are “monitoring the Matt Holliday negotiations, but are not actively involved.”
The Boston Red Sox and Mike Cameron look to be finishing up the details on a two-year contract. That, along with yesterday’s signing of John Lackey, takes the out of the market for Jason Bay.
Bay, who turned down a four-year, $60 million offer from Boston, now only has one formal offer on the table. That offer is from the New York Mets, worth $65 million over the same amount of time.
Most reports indicate that Bay really, really wants a fifth year, and the team that offer it to him may be able to snag him quickly. With the top free agents quickly flying off the shelves, the Mets may have to spring and offer that extra year to land him.
But why didn’t the Red Sox offer another year?
Do they know something no other team does? Is there an injury they know about, or at least some nagging pain?
Do they just not like his defense? (But they’re an AL team and could slot him into the DH spot if need be.) Or did they just not want to go five years, like the Mets are hesitant to do.
I don’t have a definitive answer, just something to munch on this Tuesday morning.
Added – 10:23 a.m.: From the Boston Herald…
Reports early yesterday suggested the Red Sox had enough medical red flags to justify not going five years for the outfielder, who had shoulder surgery in 2003 and knee surgery in 2007. According to the source, those concerns have not been echoed by other teams that have examined Bay’s medical records.
Thanks to Ian from Sox and Dawgs for this link.
Both Ed Price and Ken Davidoff report that a decision from Jason Bay is expected sometime this week, possibly in the next few days.
If he agrees to a deal with the Mets, this gives them a lot of time to focus on the rest of the holes they need to fill. If he declines or signs elsewhere, I guess that means they still have a lot of time, but with another hole.
As Ed Price first reported, John Lackey will be undergoing a physical with the Boston Red Sox. This, as I’m sure you can deduce, means that they are close on a deal.
What does that mean for the Mets?
Obviously, this throws a wrench into the possibility of signing the top-tier pitcher for the Mets.
As I wrote today, the Mets shouldn’t be counted out of Lackey and Jason Bay, so it should be the same for the Red Sox. Though they could so it, they probably won’t.
This leaves the Mets as the top suitor for Bay. A mystery team has supposedly offered a five-year deal to Bay. Some say it’s the Mariners.
If Bay is being bid on by only two teams, that might mean it won’t cost a bidding war over Bay and he might be able to sign for a “bargain.”
But if Bay goes elsewhere, and Lackey signs in Boston, where does that leave the Mets?
As you likely know, the Mets have extended a four-year, $65 million deal to free agent Jason Bay.
I don’t love the deal and I really hope the Mets are not the rumored team that have offered Bay five years. (Is that you, Seattle?) But, with the offered deal, the Mets might be able to swing another free agent on the market.
Not that I’m condoning it, but with the money the Mets save on the deal (by going for Bay over Scott Boras-client Matt Holliday), it is in the realm of possibility they could also sign John Lackey.
Yes, the Mets want to stay within a reasonable distance of their payroll from 2009. Yes, adding Lackey and Bay would probably be silly, devoting so much of the payroll to these two players (and add in Johan Santana for an even bigger chunk).
Likely? No. Plausible? Slightly. Going to happen? Doubt it.
But as JP said in Angels in the Outfield, “It could happen!”
With the Mets extending a four-year, $65 million offer to Jason Bay yesterday, Mets fans are seemingly split on the matter. Do you support this move or no?
I took to Twitter and asked that very question. Here are the responses…
djshort: Only if it's four years or less.
joewhitmarsh: Yes.
DanReilly11: I'd prefer Holliday or Lackey, but I'm fine with Bay at 4 years.
kramtelak: Mets need an OF with power period Bay Holliday whoever If it takes 65-70 then that's what it takes. Do we want to win Jeff?
dances_w_vowels: I support the offer, Bay would be a good offensive addition, but I can't see him putting up .280/35/110 in Citi.
cutiepie0319k: i like it. at this point i just want someone new that can hit and can make a difference.
With Matt Holliday still on the market, where do you stand?
He went on to say, “They’d probably have to bump it up to five years to get him.”
I’d prefer they spend more than give him another year, unless it’s based on some extravagant vesting option.
