As the Yankees' acquisition of center fielder Curtis Granderson in a three-way trade appears imminent, the Red Sox' pursuit of a valuable commodity of their own appears to be heating up. According to conflicting Boston Herald reports, the Red Sox met either Monday night or Tuesday with representatives for free-agent outfielder Jason Bay.
According to the report, the Red Sox are somewhat alarmed about the possibility of the Angels winning the race against other suitors to sign the All-Star left fielder.
It's been stated that the Red Sox wholeheartedly wanted to keep Bay in Boston, but they admitted that the free agent, and agent Joe Urbon, could price themselves out of the Red Sox' range.
If Bay were to sign with the Angels or another team, the Red Sox would presumably turn their targets to fellow free-agent outfielder Matt Holliday.
Bay's signing with another team could do one of two things in helping to set the market for Holliday. If Bay inks a deal for less than the $17-18 million per year that he and Urbon are reportedly seeking, Holliday's demands could go down correspondingly. On the other side, though, if Bay signs elsewhere, with just one marquee outfielder left on the free-agent table, Holliday's agent Scott Boras is likely to use that as leverage in a potential bidding war between two or more interested teams.
From the Red Sox' perspective, would you rather overpay a bit for Bay, who has already proven he can succeed in Boston, or get stuck in a bidding war for Holliday, who is a lesser-known quantity when it comes to American League experience?
