According to a team source, the Mets’ four-year, $63 million offer to Jason Bay is heavily backloaded,reports Bart Hubbach of the New York Post. The contract is worth roughly $10 million in the first season, increasing to near $20 million in the final year.
Backloaded deals are nothing new for the Mets, as Carlos Beltran signed a similar deal in January of 2005:
2005: $10 million, 2006: $12 million, 2007: $12 million, 2008: $18.5 million, 2009: $18.5 million, 2010: $18.5 million, 2011: $18.5 million
The Red Sox, who reportedly offered a four-year, $60 million contract to Bay, have resisted adding a fifth year, but the Mets could probably land him should they kick in another year around $20 million.