Jason Bay Likely Done for Season

Mets' manager Jerry Manuel told reporters today that Jason Bay is likely out for the season thanks to a concussion that he suffered nearly a month ago in Los Angeles. Bay crashed into the Dodger Stadium wall back on July 23 and though he tried to play through his injuries the next two days, he hasn't taken the field since July 25.

Manuel made his statements in Pittsburgh, where Bay spent most of the early part of his career. The Mets' weekend series against the Pirates would've been his first return to PNC Park since the Pirates traded him to the Red Sox in 2008. Instead, Bay will remain on the shelf with just 95 games played in the first year of a four-year, $66 million contract.

If Bay's season is over, that means he ends with just six home runs and a .402 slugging percentage one year after clubbing a career-high 36 homers with the Red Sox. There was some concern that Bay would have trouble adapting to spacious CitiField, but I'm not sure anyone expected this sort of struggle.

Bay's no stranger injuries, either; the last time he had a year as poor as this one was 2007, when he hit .247/.327/.418 while battling a knee injury with the Pirates. He bounced back strongly in 2008 and 2009, though, and garnered more MVP votes in 2009 than in any other season of his career. Bay will be 32 when the 2011 season begins, though, and bouncing back might be much more difficult this time around.