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Jason Bay Contract Talks Off Until After Season

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Jul 17, 2009 7:29 pm US/Eastern

Jason Bay Contract Talks Off Until After Season

Read: Dan Roche's Blog

BOSTON (WBZ) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Jason Bay (file image)
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

General manager Theo Epstein said Friday the Red Sox had been discussing a contract extension for outfielder Jason Bay and made him an offer last week.

Unable to reach a deal, the two sides agreed to shelve talks until after the season.

Bay, batting .260 with 20 homers and 72 RBIs, is eligible for free agency at the end of the year.

The Red Sox negotiated with Bay during spring training, then suspended talks after the season began before picking them up again in mid-June.

"It's now clear that this round of talks won't result in a deal, either," Epstein said.

"We're going to table discussions again, once again as a mutual decision and pick them up, most likely, after the season.

"There's disappointment," he said.

"Both sides want this to work. We were really hopeful with the aggressive offer that we made that we could have reached a deal now."

Bay said he is not committed to testing the free agent market and was willing to remain in Boston if the offer was right.

"I'm not really in the market, I'm not trying to set a precedent," the All-Star left fielder said. "I'm just looking for something that's fair."