Some were surprised to see that Jason Bay was getting a $1 million deal from the Mariners after he accepted a buyout from the Mets about a month ago, but it turns out that his contract isn’t fully guaranteed.
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports that if Bay doesn’t make the team out of spring training, he’ll only be guaranteed $500,000. However, if he surprises with a big spring and makes the Opening Day roster, he will get $1 million with the chance to earn an additional $2 million with incentives.
Bay, 34, batted just .234/.318/.369 with a .687 OPS over three seasons with the Mets, including a .165/.237/.299 batting line over 215 plate appearances in 2012. There’s a real chance that he’s done, but that didn’t stop the Mariners from taking a flier. Hey, it worked with Oliver Perez, right?
