Per Ken Rosenthal, John Lackey is close to an A.J. Burnett-type deal with the Red Sox. I know the "Mets need pitching, John Lackey=best pitcher crowd" is going to be upset, but the Mets really didn't need another declining pitcher taking up a huge chunk of the budget.
This probably also seems like a big development on the Jason Bay front, but only sort of. It was already widely reported that Bay and the Red Sox weren't going to work out a deal, and that the Mariners are the Mets main competition. If the plan for the Mets truly was Bay or Lackey, however, expect them to warm up to the idea of a fifth year soon. More, interestingly, I think, is the impact of the Matt Holliday market. If the Red Sox opt for Mike Cameron now, who signs Holliday? The Angels?