In yesterday's round of Jason Bay rumors, we heard that Bay had rejected the Red Sox' offer and was exploring other options. Bay's agent, Joe Urbon, took this news one step further, saying that his client is prepared to "move on," according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Regarding negotiations with the Sox, Urbon added:
"We’ve got to a point where, based on the offers we’ve received from other clubs, we needed to make it clear where we stand, and they’ve made it clear where they stand. If they want, they can reengage at some point in this process, but we’re not going to wait. We can’t wait. We have to go at the pace of the other clubs."
Articles by John Tomase and Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald and Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post both point out that this stance could just be a negotiating tactic by Urbon. Even so, Hubbuch notes that it should only improve the Mets' chances of landing Bay, though Bill Madden of the New York Daily News is skeptical about Bay coming to New York. SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets seem more concerned about Seattle's involvement than Boston's.