Jason

Bay

This is a good sign for Bay, who had a broken wrist, but he’s expected to remain with Portland once he comes off the DL, and will have to put together another month like his April to appear with the Padres before September.

Bay, who was going to get a chance to play center field for the Padres before getting hurt, figures to remain with Portland once his rehab assignment is over. There’s no room for him in the San Diego outfield right now.

In August, Bay hit .290/.382/.559 with seven homers and 15 RBI. “What this guy is doing is phenomenal. It would really be a shame if Jason Bay doesn’t win [Rookie of the Year],” manager Lloyd McClendon said. “He’s blown every other rookie out of the water. What else does he have to do? All you have to do is stack up his numbers against the rest of them and vote accordingly.” And all you have to do, Lloyd, is stack up his numbers and arrange your lineup accordingly. Let’s have no more of Bay batting sixth.

Although he hit only .260, Bay slugged six homers and had 22 RBI this month. He is a favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year honors.

Bay, 24, will be called up from Triple-A Portland when Mark Kotsay is placed on the DL today. He’s cooled off since being the PCL Player of the Month for April, but is still hitting .300 with 10 home runs, 32 RBI, a .409 on-base percentage, and 10 steals. NL-only leaguers should already have picked him up.

The Pirates have until 5 p.m. today to get Perez, Bay, Jose Castillo, and Ty Wigginton signed. Neither Bay nor agent Joe Urbon revealed specific numbers, but each described the sides as being far apart. Bay, 26, made $305,000 last season, which was $5,000 above the minimum. ''We’ll see how it goes,’' Bay said. ''I don’t want to rock the boat right now.’' Urbon showed the Pirates the salaries of the last 15 ROY winners in each league, but it hasn’t swayed management. We continue to shake our heads at the stance the Pirates are taking with their current-and-future stars. Do they EVER intend to contend?

Bay is hitting .342 with 10 homers and 32 RBI for Triple-A Portland. He has a .462 on-base percentage and .649 slugging percentage, plus seven stolen bases. PCL or no, those are scary numbers. Bay, 24, should be in San Diego by the second half of the season.

Bay has been limited to DH duties following shoulder surgery. He’s expected to start getting more at-bats once minor league games begin this weekend.

Bay is expected to start the season on the DL, but GM Dave Littlefield believes he’ll be ready after 15 days. While Bay is out, Craig Wilson should play regularly. J.J. Davis will also get some at-bats.

The Pirates aren’t going to let Bay play left field until his shoulder gets stronger. Bay is playing catch from 120 feet, so he may not have all that much further to go.