Gammons: Bay, Sox had deal worked out in July

Peter Gammons shed some new light on Jason Bay signing with the Mets, reporting that the Red Sox and Bay “had agreed on the framework” of a four-year, $60 million contract in July before an MRI exam raised red flags about the health of his knees. According to Gammons the Red Sox then lowered their offer from four years to two years, at which point Bay predictably decided to hit the open market and eventually joined the Mets on a four-year, $66 million deal with a $17 million vesting option for 2014. Previous reports about Bay ending negotiations with the Red Sox had him simply rejecting their offer, but no matter the source of details the four-year, $60 million contract has been a constant. He ended up with a bigger contract anyway, but many people have speculated that Bay would have taken slightly less money to remain in Boston. Click here to contact Aaron Gleeman or follow him on Twitter.