The regular season is now closer to the end than to the beginning, yet almost nothing has happened in the talks between Jason Bay and the Red Sox about a potential contract extension.

The All-Star break has come and gone. Some dialogue took place between the two sides during the Red Sox’ four-day break in the season. According to multiple baseball sources, however, none of the conversations were significantly different in substance or tenor from what had taken place since spring training.

Even so, the absence of movement does not necessarily bode poorly for the negotiations. Both Bay and the Sox have made little secret of a mutual interest in finding a deal to keep the power-hitting outfielder in Boston beyond the 2009 season, the last of a four-year, $18.25 million deal that Bay signed with the Pirates.

Yet there has been no movement, in part because the market is no clearer now than it was when the two sides talked in the spring. At that time, the two parties cited changing market conditions – most notably, sinking free-agent contracts for all but the cream of last winter’s free-agent crop – in suggesting that it made sense to let the market settle before resuming discussions.

The Red Sox used the most recent deal for a power-hitting outfielder – the two-year, $20 million deal signed by Adam Dunn and the Nationals in February – as the relevant benchmark for their spring training offer. Earlier this season, Rob Bradford reported that Bay – who has never before been eligible for free agency – was seeking something in the three- or four-year range for roughly $14 million a year. In the months since then, there have been no other extensions signed that might clarify the direction of the market and offer greater direction to negotiations.

Though Bay is aware of his impending free-agent status, the issue has not distracted him from his on-field preparation and performance en route to a starting spot on the American League All-Star team this year. Bay has also confirmed with teammates that his contract status is in no way a distraction in other parts of the clubhouse, and is not viewed as having any bearing on the team’s or player’s performance.

As a result, Bay and his representatives see no need to alter the negotiating process with new rules, even with free agency now less than four months away. The outfielder has not imposed any deadlines on negotiations with the Sox in the short-term, and nothing has shaken the notion that his ultimate goal is to stay in Boston if possible.

That does not mean that Bay is opposed to exploring the market. Every once in a while, when asked about playing for another team, he will suggest that a city is “on the list” of possible destinations. He used that term in reference to Toronto during the All-Star break, and said the same thing in a conversation with Fox Sports about Seattle – where he resides in the offseason – earlier in the season.

Yet while Bay recognizes the business reality that he might end up pursuing opportunities outside of Boston, it is clear that he’s anything but desperate to do so. At the All-Star Game, as he has several times in just under a year in Boston, Bay talked once again about his enjoyment of everything connected to life as a Red Sox.

“If you were to make a baseball player make a list and say, ‘Go play anywhere you want to,’” opined Bay, “Boston would be one of the teams at the top of the list.”

As for Bay’s teammates, opinion has been unified about his impact with the Sox, and their desire to keep him in Boston beyond this season.

“(Bay’s impact has been) huge. Huge,” Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon said in St. Louis. “He’s come in here, replaced a Hall of Famer (Manny Ramirez) without any hiccups, and has totally done a phenomenal job for us.”

“He’s done a great job,” seconded Kevin Youkilis. “He’s been a leader just by how he goes about playing the game, playing every day.”

Bay is hitting .260 with a .380 OBP, .527 slugging mark and .907 OPS this year. Still, he cooled after a scorching start. After hitting .301 with 13 homers in 41 games and a 1.090 OPS through May 21, he hit just .226 with a .750 OPS and seven homers in the next 45 games heading into the All-Star break.

Despite his recent slump, Bay’s season numbers for 2009 are largely in line with his career performance (.280, .375 OBP, .517 slugging, .893 OPS). Moreover, Bay will be turning 31 in September, and so remains in what many in baseball consider his prime (albeit the late-prime years).

Bay has separated himself as likely the top free-agent outfielder on the market this winter. He has demonstrated his ability to perform at an All-Star level after moving into one of baseball’s most intense markets.

With Matt Holliday’s power not having translated (.276, .373 OBP, .792 OPS) since going from Colorado to Oakland and other prospective free-agent outfielders (Vladimir Guerrero, Magglio Ordonez, Jermaine Dye) struggling with either age or injuries, Bay could be the premier power-hitter on the market.

That assumes, of course, that he reaches the market. Because Bay remains open to negotiating in the second half, however, a foray into free agency is not yet a foregone conclusion.