Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that Jason Bay agreed to his deal with the Mets on Christmas day, four days before it was reported by Mike Francesa on his “Mike’d Up” radio show on WFAN.
The Mets signed Bay to a four-year, $66 million contract with a vesting option for a fifth year which could bring the total to more than $80 million. According to Bradford, the financial figures are slightly more than the Mets’ original offer for Bay, but the option year was in their proposal from the beginning.
To recap, right after the winter meetings, it was reported that the Mets offered Bay a four-year contract in the vicinity of $65 million. Days later, Bradford reported that one major league team extended an offer to Bay exceeding four years, prompting many to erroneously believe there was a “mystery team” in the bidding. Knowing how the situation played out, we have at least some reason to believe that the Mets were this “mystery team” all along.
In a related story, Bay will undergo a physical with the Mets on Monday before making the new contract official.