Boston Red Sox Still Interested in Jason Bay, Despite Full Outfield

The Red Sox sign Mike Cameron?" target="_blank">Boston Red Sox signed Mike Cameron earlier this offseason to play left field, Jason Bay ’s old position. The team has Jacoby Ellsbury anchoring center field, J.D. Drew holding down the fort in right field, and Jeremy Hermida riding the bench as the fourth outfielder .

But, though the Sox have four capable outfielders, they are still monitoring Bay’s situation.

As it stands now, his situation is not a good one. The Red Sox offered him a four-year deal worth $60 million during the regular season and he turned it down, a decision that is looking worse by the day. He wants a five-year deal, and no one wants to give him one.

The New York Mets flirted with the idea of answering his demands, but have not made him an offer he deems respectable.

The San Francisco Giants had preliminary interest at the beginning of the offseason, as did the Seattle Mariners and a few other teams, but interest soon waned as front offices showed reluctance in offering the 31-year-old such a lengthy and expensive deal.

Boston may have given up on Bay too quickly, jumping out of the gate with the Cameron signing. Now, if they are to bring him back, some shuffling would need to be done and the contract would have to be heavily back-loaded in order for Boston to remain under the luxury tax.

Who would go to make room? The Red Sox could move Cameron to centerfield and trade Ellsbury, whom Cubs could try to acquire Ellsbury" target="_blank">the Chicago Cubs will reportedly ask about, in the coming weeks, but that doesn’t seem like a very good trade-off.

I believe Boston needs Bay and Bay needs Boston, but if management’s thinking is to trade Ellsbury in order to sign Bay, then bringing him back would not be worth it.

Why would Boston remove Ellsbury, 26, who hit .301, scored 94 runs, and swiped 70 bases, and replace him with Cameron, 36, who is a career .250 hitter and strikes out far too much?

Unless they trade Cameron, making his stay very temporary, a return doesn’t seem conceivable. Cameron may hit 60 homers over the next two seasons, dent the Monster for 40 doubles per year, and bat a surprisingly efficient .280 for Boston, but passing up on Bay would undoubtedly be regrettable.

General Manager Theo Epstein could have something up his sleeve that doesn’t involve a trade of Ellsbury (One plausible scenario: trade Hermida for relief help and move Cameron into the fourth outfielder spot).

If this is so, I would be shocked if Bay wasn’t with the Red Sox next year. Players have their demands. Third baseman Adrian Beltre wants $10 million-15 million annually over three fo four years.

Johnny Damon, a Scott Boras client, managed to price himself out of New York (imagine that) by demanding an annual salary of $13 million over three to four years.

But, in Bay’s case, he has to know when to stop asking for a fifth year, and learn to take four for $60 million.

How do you turn down $60 million offered by a team that is familiar to you and plays in a hitter’s park? Because you want $75 million-$80 million. Baseball is a business, but there are times when a dose of reality is necessary.

This is why Bay’s agent, in the past few weeks, has gone “back to the Red Sox in an effort to keep his client in a ballpark where he was not only happy but where he put up big numbers,” according to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo .

The Red Sox should listen to Joe Urbon, Bay’s representative. Bay has a four-year, $65 million offer on the table from the Mets, but they play in a pitcher’s park, and they haven’t been in contact with him of late, frustrated by his lack of an answer.

The Red Sox, in need of offense, should re-sign Bay if given the opportunity, and use Cameron against lefhanded pitchers and to give Bay, Ellsbury, and Drew a rest periodically.

In an interview on WEEI Radio, Peter Gammons said , “Jason Bay would rather play in Beirut than Queens.” So, that crosses the Mets off the list.

The only other option? Boston, the team he enjoyed playing for, the team he excelled with over a year and a half span. He needs the Red Sox, and there is no question they need him.