According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, Jason Bay has rejected the Red Sox offer of $60 million over four years. He will now be able to sign a contract with any major league team when the Red Sox exclusive negotiation window ends at midnight tonight.
Considered by many to be the number two free agent this winter behind fellow left fielder Matt Holliday, there are signs that Bay’s stock is dropping among potential suitors. For one, the Cardinals don’t consider Bay a priority due to his poor defense.
Thanks to Sean O. for helping to break the story in the Soriano/Gonzalez comment section.
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doesn't he almost have to reject this offer to really play the FA game? i mean, i get it… but it just seems dumb to me.
i find it interesting how when players hit the free agent market it seems everyone else is aware of their weaknesses except themselves.
what do the sox do now? is that offer retracted or does it stay on the table? i'm sure someone will beat the offer b/c people do crazy things but i could see a scenario where Bay is sitting here a month from now and the best offer he would have received is the 4/60 from boston.
unless of course omar steps up… then he's looking at like… 7/120
I think Boston would keep the offer on the table. Seriously, if they couldn't come to an agreement all year, they weren't going to before the exclusivity window was up. Hell, this might be his best chance to get an optional fifth year from the Sox.
i saw this an hour ago and immediately said "didn;t we know this a month ago?"
I get why the Sox would make one more offer before they lose exclusive bargaining talks, but why bother if it's the same offer from mid-season?
At least they didn't offer more and raise the price further…
Broke the hell out of that story by reading mlbtr and commenting here. Original research.
Gerry, from the last thread-
I think we're screwed this season stuck with Lowell, Ortiz, Beckett and a black hole at short, so I say we try for 2011 and not waste $140m on Holliday, or an aging Bay.
We are “stuck with Beckett”? Come on man, I know you hate him, but you have to admit he is an asset. Yo can say he is “overrated” if you want, but he still one of our two best pitchers. And please, don’t talk me about Hanley.
And with whom do you plan to fill our LF next year? Dunn? He is a DH. Crawford? He is an overrated outfielder with a weak bat, and who is lefty to make the matters worst. Reddick and Kalish are still far. Holliday is better than all of them.
We have a whole in short, and thats exactly why we should be upgrading other positions. Because I’m not gonna surrender the season, and waste an entire year of all the team, for no reason.
Go for Reddick since this season is a lost cause. If we get anything from him, cool.
As for Beckett, I don't think he's an asset, especially in the playoffs.
You're right. This season is basically over. We should just sell the team. Next summer we can entertain ourselves watching the WNBA.
It's like the opposite of 2004: instead of a bunch of players we think can produce will leave via FA, we're waiting out the string on a lot of old dead weight. Our future is bright, and crapping away $140m on Holliday or even 5/75 on Bay is a good way to screw us for 2011-2014.
A few good mid-season trades of Beckett and Papelbon, maybe even Lowell (who thought Rolen could be traded?) could do wonders if we're getting killed by a Yankees team with Lackey. I believe in Reddick, and I want to see what we can get.
What he said. I'm with him, believe it or not. (Except the midseason trade of Beckett or Papelbon — I can't see Boston ever 'conceding' like that.)
God i hope the Sox don't sign him. He can't hit breaking balls. His K totals clearly supports the previous statement. The problem is their isn't much to choose from.
They should just trade for Josh Willingham
Great idea.
Let Jason Bay walk
i'm not in favor of signing bay for more than 4 years. i am not infatuated with holliday but i would give him a 5 year deal.
however, i'd prefer to not sign either and give marlon byrd a 2 year deal and wait until SD makes a-gon available and do whatever it takes to get him… bowden/lars/ellsbury/delcarmen. add another prospect and this could satisfy the desire to send prospects and major league talent.
there are too many holes for the red sox to fill at 3B, DH, SS, and now LF to realistically compete with the yankees next year. i am not a 'gotta beat the yankees' guy but they have set the bar pretty high. thats alot to be done in one off-season.
i'm not saying the towel is thrown in on this upcoming season but 2012 looks very good with money coming off the books and a very deep (potential) free agent class. (mauer, crawford, cain, pujols, lee, halladay…)
Hypothetically, do we want Lowe? Or, more specifically, do we take on Lowe's crappy contract for a Braves prospect? We're not going to get anyone like Escobar that the Braves need immediately, but the Braves seem to have plenty of outfield prospects coming up.
Lowe has had success here, and while '09 is a major concern, he could easily get back to his Dodgers-level production. He's had sudden drops in k/9 and spikes in bb/9 before. The only thing you really expect from Lowe is that he probably won't be very injured.
The Braves were decidedly below-average last season per UZR, and we're talking about an infield of Youk and Pedroia. It depends on how Lowell is doing, but he's been a good fielder in the past.
If we can either get a good chunk of the $ or some young talent, I'd be fine with it, but we'd have to get one of those two.
I would say no, although a trade of Lowe would be great for the Braves since it's looking more likely that they're going to have to move Vasquez to get the bat they need. I wonder if the Sox have that bat, but maybe a Reddick/Kalish + a couple other prospects for Javy is a good move, the Braves need outfielders and they need to get younger, an outfield of Heyward, Reddick, and Schaefer would look pretty good going into the future.
"It depends on how Lowell is doing, but he's been a good fielder in the past. "
My blood just went cold. Sean O saying something good about Lowell can only mean the end times are near :).
Seriously though, I at first was going to say no to Lowe. But I don't know anything about the Brave's infield defense, and looking back at the numbers he didn't do as bad as I recalled. If we could be gotten for cheap it might not be a bad idea.
Wow… can't believe Sean O said that. Way to go!
FWIW, I've heard scuttlebutt that the Red Sox have considered putting Lowell at 1B.
i like Reddick too, and I WISH he were ready. At 22/23 he could be Could he finish his learning at the MLB level, or will it retard his growth?
At Fenway, he showed major league poise and competence as a defender with glove, range and arm. Small sample size, but consistent.. Offensively, his minor league #'s indicate he could, when ready for MLB, have at least JD Drew production, with greater pop. It's not 36HR, but he's only 22, and perhaps J.Bay won't do that again either, as he has traditionally been a 30HR hitter. Reddicik's hitting at Fenway wasn't stellar, but that small rookie sample need not apply. Enter J. Hermida for a platoon/4th OF? Could those two kids combine for .280/30/100/100 and better D than J.Bay?? IMO, there's a good chance of it at Fenway..
Surrender? Really? Sorry, that unacceptable to me. I can support a losing team (obviously), but I have zero respect for those who surrender.
If the Red Sox surrender the season, then count me out from the fanbase. As simple as that. And I’m a man of my word.
So you'd rather the club screw their future by signing dead-weight like Holliday or an aging LFer like Bay? That's the irresponsible action.
Beckett, Lowell and Ortiz are keeping us from winning, and we need to dump them. The Red Sox future is bright, but Holliday and these 3 aren't.
I’m dead serious. I’m not gonna invest my time and money in a team who keep the money in their pockets, and don’t reinvest in the team. If they wanna keep their money, then I’m gonna do the same thing. The idea of “rebuilding” for a franchise with the Sox’s resources is unacceptable for me. I wanna see accountability.
So, I’m not trying to convince no one else. I understand you all think differently, and I’m gonna respect that, but I have already decided…
What you're saying is that you would rather them go out and sign anyone on the planet to any sort of contract, just to prove that they'll spend money. I think Theo's an idiot, but there is nothing worse than rampant spending for no reason. There was no excuse for our pathetic offseason last year, but that's because there were good players available. This season, there isn't a single one I'd want at the price they'll demand.
I'm going to be ok if we end up signing Chapman (though the Yanks will likely get him), but not if we throw money at players that won't help.
Do you truly believe that spending $20m for 7 years on Holliday shows a better commitment to winning than hypothetically signing 6-12 high-ceiling latin prospects? There are many directions in which the Red Sox may go that better the team, rather than piling the money we give them into left field and setting it on fire.
Yes, like I said before, I truly believe Holliday worth the money. And frankly I'm not impressed with Chapman at all. Yes, he throws hard, but for what I read, he has comand issues and his offspeed stuff is nothing special, so, he is a coin toss. If you are Lucky MAYBE he will be great, but probably he is just another Joel Zumaya. He is the very definition on "unproven". Personally, I'm tired of this "projects".
And no, I don't believe Holliday is "anyone in the planet". But, like I said, I'm not trying to convince you. I know you already have your opinion of Holliday. Well, I have my opinion too, and obviously any further discussion of this point is futile. I'm not gonna convince you and you are not gonna convince me.
But, if the Sox don't sign Holliday, and chose to quietly surrender the season, then I'm out. As simple as that.