The Sox should offer Bay a 4 year $50m contract, using the $12.5m per year that David Ortiz took as a discount as the benchmark. With a team option for a fifth year.

Bay is very solid, if not spectacular, and if he'd take a small discount that would show that he's the Red Sox team/nation-oriented player we want here.

Jason hit well in the playoffs last year, and his normal production level of 30-100-280 would probably be enhanced once he's in the middle of the sox line-up and gets used to hitting at Fenway. Will he hit like Manny's 30-120-300? Probably not, but he's a better defensive player, and a much more reliable teammate.

Good stuff. Let's hope they can get him to sign a nice 4/$42 type contract. We still have yet to see Bay with a complete season in Fenway park (which with the dimensions should be a pretty positive outcome)....and it would be wise to lock him up before the rest of the league gets a chance to see what Bay can do to the American League in his prime. It is very interesting to see the shift in spending now that the Yankees are done winning the January World Series. As the market crumbles for most positions, I see the Sox taking this route with players such as Youk and Papelbon. Wait for the last second as salaries diminish...or sign the players quick now...as players are also aware the money might not be avail later.

Bay's a good ball player all around, hits for avg. good HR total
a great doubles guy for Fenway and a really good outfielder and
he should have much better numbers in the A.L. after just a short
season last year.

Sign him! He is young, produces great offensive numbers (including the post-season last year) and he is decent defensively. Not to mention, he possesses none of Manny's cancer -causing traits. A long-term keeper!

Sox should get this done before the season starts! Hiting in the middle of an anemic Pirates line-up for most of last year, Bay scored more runs and had only two less HRs than, gasp, should I say his name... Mark Teixeira - last year. He is a 100-30-100 guy with some speed and an excellent defensive outfielder, and he wants to play in Boston. He came in last year with what had to be tremendous pressure and hit in the clutch and was by all accounts a great clubhouse guy. He may not be Manny, and he may not even be Teixeira - but he's a heck of a ballplayer and the Sox should get him signed up for the forseeable future!!!!

Wow, I forgot that Jason Bay was on the Red Sox because all I kept hearing about was Manny Ramirez and Mr. Leigh Teixeira.

lock him up.......if they are waiting on Holliday they will get a lesser player and be dealing with Boras again.....Bay proved he is a winner in the short time he was in the Boston spotlight

Is Scott Boras his agent? If not who is?

Joe

The longer the wait, the less likely he will re-sign. But maybe we are counting on getting Bay or someone else on the cheap?? Maybe another broken down player or two can be signed next year to replace him?

I'm thinking he'll sign 5 years for$60-65 million. And relatively speaking, he's worth it.

THEO, PLEASE GET THIS DONE. HE'S A KEEPER.

Bay will wait and become a free agent. He knows the sox are cheap. 5 years 60m. as a free agent.

Bring back manny!

He is young and very talented. He will be a 30 -35 HR yearly which is excellent given he can hit doubles and clutch as well. Lock him up for the next 5 years for 75 mil and sit back and watch him grow. He will have at least one 40 HR season.

Not sure it will happen. I would like to see Bay signed, I think he is a great player, but why would he sign a reduced contract now instead of waiting for FA next year when the economy might be better? He and Holliday would be only two solid FA outfield options, and once the Yankees give Holliday 18 million (discount over Damon/Matsui), he could sign a 14-15 million dollar contract as the runner up.

Sign him. He is quiet, but a much better option than Manny - who may end up jobless this year. As teams take a closer look at Manny and how he tanked it last year for the Sox, the more they are staying away from him. Jason Bay is NOT that kind of player. I say 5 years / $60-65 million. I think he will be a .300 40 110 guy next year. A full year at Fenway...knowing he is going to be here a while...wanting to prove he is worth the money....that is the kind of player Jason Bay is - not flashy - but talented and professional. Sign him fast!

Just another example of John Henry being smarter than everyone else. He sees a very weak economy, unlike the Steinbrenners, and he is acting accordingly with his team payroll.

Just let him become a free agent so the Yankees can sign him!

No need to get fancy..... Just sign him !!!!!

"Bay is very solid, if not spectacular, and if he'd take a small discount that would show that he's the Red Sox team/nation-oriented player we want here."

Oh, you mean like Lowell? Who's constantly on the trading block this season?

No way. If Bay's got any brains, he'll go to free agency. I'm sure his Red Sox loving dad will fully understand.

He is a great all around ball player, great team guy, and if the Sox dont sign him then they might just let a teixeira-esk player get away from them. Just look at what he did in the postseason.

He's the steady eddy we need. Clutch, doubles in Fenway and no controversy.
!2M a year for 3 or 4 and an option. Shall we play baseball or go back to the days of Manny and have a controversial non -team player as a centerpiece. Quiet and strong pitching is key to the roster, so are the position players. Keep Bay. Get him done before the spring and move on Theo. Get him done!

Theo will sign Jason Bay before the season starts so he don't have the headaches they had this season with Teixeia.

Bays worth 52-56 million 4 years w/club option. --- Frig the Yankees!!
*** Red Sox WILL fight Yankess for THE HOLIDAY. *** Bank on it....

Bay's Red Sox stats versus right handed pitchers: OBP/.327, SLG/.474, AVG/.270
I guess I'm in the minority here but I don't see him as a 12mil a year player. He just isn't going to hit the best AL pitchers.

Five years, $60 million, one team option year for $15 million. Jason Bay rocks!

I see the negative fans are at it again. Jason will sign. He is happy in Boston, and his dad is a RED SOX fan.

He's a great player and he'll have better numbers than Holliday this year especially with Holiday playing for the A's. If the sox wait to long then they are going to pay more that they should for him. They should lock him up now and reap the benefits. He would never turn down an fair offer to stay for the team he has always idiolized. Growing up in Canada him and his dad idiolized the sox. they should do it now and it would not be a regret. It would never end up up like the over pay we had for J.D.

Speaking of the Yankees, I say, just throw the gates wide open--declare every player in the majors a free agent, let the Yankees sign whichever 25 they want, then close it down and everyone else returns to the way they were, filling in leftiver gaps with trades and AAA players. After Yankees get done spending their GM-buyout budget and the rest of baseball gets back to business, we can all laugh as the Yanks sink like a rock in August and September. The Yanks are cursed by their idolatry of the almighty dollar and doomed to fail because they don't have teamwork or player chemistry.

Sign him of course!!! He had good chemistry with Sox from the first day he played for Sox everybody saw. He is good player both offense & defense, and cooperates with teammates.

The Sox and Bay will meet in the middle on an extension. Don't forgot that MLB players are afforded the best investment consultants money can buy (which is a staple when you invest more then 1.5M). He is not so naive to think the economy will get better in one year. The risk far outweighs the reward to wait as so many variables can go against him including a down year or a serious injury. Do you ever notice why so many young players (see Dustin) sign low ball contracts when you know they can hold out and make so much more? The reason is they don't have the nest egg yet to take a chance. Unless Bay has a monster year I see his ceiling at around 14 but the floor considerable lower.

I really like Bay... but he is not a premier hitter and anything over 9 million it too much in this market. 4 years - 36 million. Throw TEK in with the deal at 7 million a year for 2 years... 14 million.

When you look at what the Yankees and Mets paid for the "top" free agents, to say there has been a "market correction" is wrong. Bay is still a $12-$14 million a year player. I think Burrell took a lower deal just to go home.

Brian MacPherson has an interesting set of comparative stats in the Union-Leader. In essence, Bay's numbers to date are at least equal to those of Justin Morneau and Grady Sizemore, and not far from those of Yaz in his first six seasons. While it is certainly true that AL pitching is generally superior to NL pitching, it is also true that hitting in the Pittsburgh lineup does not afford much "protection". Despite the difficulty of mid-season transition to the AL, he did quite well; he should be expected to improve over a full season. The other player with nearly comparable stats over his first six years is JD Drew, except that Bay has been healthy over his career, and appears to have none of the appalling characteristics of his predecessor. A comparable contract should not be out of the question, since he would do quite well in free agency.

The J.D. Who? signing will go down as one of the bad ones from Theo (Lugo being another). To give him 5 yrs at $72 million was crazy. If you're lucky, you will get 135 games a year from him. Again, when the Red Sox talk about market corrections, who are they talking about? J. D. Drew is easily one of the most over-paid players in baseball. Jason Bay would be a far better investment at those prices.

Lock this guy up! Very underrated player playing in Pitt his entire career... Holliday is no better than Bay and will demand a lot more money with Boras being his agent. He is not Man Ram, but very few are and he is better in the clubhouse and a much better teammate. There are not many outfielders in MLB that are much better than Bay.

"The J.D. Who? signing will go down as one of the bad ones "

Perhaps it's just coincidence that in his two seasons here they've won a World Series in one and gone to the seventh game of the ALCS in another.

But I don't think so.

JD carry this team in 2008 when Big Papi went down. JD may have his problems about not playing 162 games but lets face it, he was just as big of part of why Red Sox win 2007 American Leaque Championship & the World Series. I Love JD Drew. -- God Bless him and us the Red Sox fans to have him!! Great deal THEO. However, LUGO I think has a problem with his attitude especially when Manny left. Lugo's is a Manny lover. ( Notice how he always hanging all over Manny.) I wish Lugo would GO AWAY but probably won't. Maybe he'll play well this year?? Go figure.

We sure do miss him in Pittsburgh, he was always clutch, a solid LF, and a great guy in the clubhouse by all accounts read. I was thrilled with his performance in his first post-season last year with all that pressure. I hope the Sox sign him long term and he's great there. He deserves it! I still can't get over that the Bucs traded him, though it's too soon to see if any pieces pan out. But at least we'll get to watch him in the playoffs year after year now.

DON'T sign him... we want to get him back in the 'Burgh! (not that we'd spend the money of course, but when you root for the Bucs ya gotta dream)

Not a Red Sox fan, but I do like Bay. A much better teammate/ball player combo than you'll find elsewhere. God speed Jason wherever you go.

Sox most important moves right now:

1. Sign a catcher (Varitek is still the best option b/c his price is going down)
Everything else below this is not necessary but is important
2. Sign Youk for 3 years, $40.5 million
3. Give Bay an extension (4-5 yrs. at $12 million per plus an option year)
4. Sign Papelbon to an extension. (5 years, $55 million)
5. Sign Lester to 7 years, 63 million (Now before his price rises even more in a few years)

THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!!! Jason is an all-star caliber player, even when he's in a lineup full of other potential AS. Jason could go for 5 years 80 m$ in free agency next year. BRING BAY BACK!!! Get it done Theo. Don't pass up anymore potential All-stars becuase of 5 million. DO IT!!