``I don't know what the Red Sox' next move will be, but we have no plans to wait for them,'' Urbon wrote in a text message.

At this point it's unclear if Urbon is merely posturing as part of a negotiating ploy or actually ready to move on to greener pastures, but it's certainly within reason to take his words at face value.

The Red Sox , after all, have been speaking to Bay since spring training without reaching common ground on a deal, and Urbon would undoubtedly like to get the free agent signed in the next couple of weeks.

Foxsports.com was the first to report Bay had turned down the Sox , with Urbon telling the Web site: ``We don't agree with (the Red Sox' ) evaluation of the player. Frankly, we have other offers on the table that are of greater interest to Jason.''

While the implication is that the Red Sox at least upped their offer from the four-year, $60 million proposal they made around the All-Star break, it clearly wasn't enough. A source told the Herald that Bay's camp countered in July for six years and $16 million to $18 million annually - and the sides have been at an impasse ever since.

If Bay does move on, it appears the New York Mets are one potential suitor, with the Los Angeles Angels also possibly getting back in the mix. Bay's hometown Seattle Mariners can't be discounted either, even as they appear to be having internal reservations about putting Bay's glove in Safeco's expansive left field.

Asked at last week's winter meetings in Indianapolis if he would be willing to sacrifice some outfield defense to improve his club's offense, Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu laughed.

``I think that depends on the rest of the club, it really does,'' Wakamatsu said. ``I mean, how this thing slots out, I don't really ever want to sacrifice anything.''

Bay remains one of the biggest bats on the free agent market, as well as an outstanding leader. He's coming off a season in which he hit a career-high 36 homers and drove in 119 runs while batting .267.

Besides the first offer from the Sox , the only other confirmed offer to Bay is a four-year proposal from the Mets that was reportedly for slightly less than $65 million over four years.

While the Red Sox privately feared at the start of the offseason that the Angels would be Bay's most aggressive suitor, after some initial interest, Los Angeles backed off at the winter meetings. Manager Mike Scioscia said the Angels wanted to allocate their resources to address more pressing needs.

However, with Urbon signaling that the Red Sox are out of the mix at least for the time being, that could be enough to nudge the Angels back into the bidding.

It appears that at least one team has upped the ante.

Citing a Baseball source last night, WEEI.com reported that Bay has received one offer of more than four years from a mystery team.

Anderson out

Outfielder Brian Anderson became a free agent when the Sox decided against offering him a 2010 contract. The ballclub did tender contracts to the other 20 unsigned players on the roster.

The Sox also agreed to a $650,000, one-year contract with right-hander Boof Bonser, who was acquired from the Minnesota Twins earlier in the week. The Red Sox sent Double-A right-hander Chris Province to the Twins to complete the trade for Bonser, who missed 2009 with an arm injury.

Yanks axe Wang

Chien-Ming Wang became a free agent when the New York Yankees failed to offer the right-hander a 2010 contract. Wang hasn't been the same since injuring his right foot while running the bases in 2008 interleague play. . . .

Power-hitting Jack Cust (Oakland Athletics), closer Mike MacDougal (Washington Nationals) and outfielder Jonny Gomes (Cincinnati Reds) were among the other players cut loose. . . .

Among arbitration-eligible players who agreed for 2010 were San Diego starter Kevin Correia ($3.6 million), Atlanta outfielder Matt Diaz ($2.55 million), Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro ($2.1 million) and righty Lance Cormier ($1.2 million), and Baltimore righty Cla Meredith ($850,000). . . .

Reliever Brandon Lyon finalized his three-year, $15 million deal with the Houston Astros.

Herald wire services contributed to this report.