The Jason Bay Saga: A Zero-Sum Game
If you look all free-agent signings across the league in recent history, not every situation reveals a clear-cut winner or clear-cut loser. In many cases, you can argue that Team A was right to let a player go, but the signing really worked out for Team B as well. However, if you believe the recent information from Peter Gammons to be true, the Jason Bay free agency is a different animal.
Two of the favorites to sign Bay (the Red Sox and the Mets) offered staggeringly different contract terms. The Sox offered a conservative 2-year deal after becoming suspicious of Bay’s health, while the Mets signed Bay to an aggressive 4-year deal, on that could turn into a 5-year deal if certain incentives are met. Three or four years from now, it will be rather easy to point at one team and say “smart move” (or, if you are the glass-half-empty type, you can point at the other team and say “YOU FOOLS”).
I can’t help but be reminded of the departure of Pedro Martinez. The Mets aggressively signed the aging superstar to a 4-year deal despite glaring injury concerns. It was a mistake, and they paid the price ($50,000,000, to be exact).
When I look at the hobbled Jason Bay in that big ole’ National League park, it’s hard to imagine a different outcome.
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