J.D. Drew Rumors

Drew's Surgery Will Not Affect Contract

John Tomase of the Boston Herald reports that while J.D. Drew has undergone minor surgery on his left shoulder, it will have no impact on the team's opt out clause in his contract. Drew's contract states that the club can opt out if he spends 35 or more days on the disabled list due to his pre-existing right shoulder troubles or if he finishes 2010 on the disabled list and cannot play in the outfield for 2011. Drew is entering the fourth year of a five-year, $70MM contract he signed in 2007, which pays him $14MM annually. The article suggests...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Drew, Molina, Cards, Chapman

Another round of links before the weekend... WEEI.com's Alex Speier suggests J.D. Drew has been worth slightly more than the $42MM the Red Sox have paid him since 2007 because of his on-base skills and strong defense. Drew's no RBI machine, but GM Theo Epstein likes his hitting approach as-is. Considering the massive deals handed out to Vernon Wells, Alfonso Soriano and others after 2006, Drew's contract seems reasonable. Jack Moore of FanGraphs expects Bengie Molina to draw interest this offseason and predicts that the catcher will be worth $4MM or more next year. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis...   Continue Reading

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Red Sox Rumors: Bay, Drew, Bard

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein appeared on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan show this morning; let's take a look. Epstein admitted the Red Sox need a contingency plan in case Jason Bay leaves, but he still believes "[Bay] wants to be here, and we want to keep him and take a shot." Epstein says J.D. Drew has been worth "a tick more than $14MM per year," due to his offense, defense, and baserunning. FanGraphs has the best-known public player valuation system, and they say Drew has averaged $14.93MM in regular season value over 2007-09. The Red Sox GM was not trying...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Full Count Video: Figgins, Hanley, Kershaw, Drew

Let's see what FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has for us in his latest Full Count video... Chone Figgins could be one of the most popular free agents this winter. The White Sox have long had interest in him, and his skills as a leadoff hitter will make him attractive to many teams, perhaps even the Yankees. Figgins will come cheaper than Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, and the Yanks could easily withstand his lack of power if they put him in left field. Four years younger than Johnny Damon, Figgins and Derek Jeter would make a dynamic 1-2 punch atop the...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Grabow, Brewers, Blue Jays

Time for another round of links... John Grabow tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he enjoys playing for the Cubs and likes the city of Chicago. Grabow, who becomes a free agent after the season, sounds open to re-signing with the Cubs. Manager Ken Macha thinks the Brewers could use some power arms, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Tyler Hissey of Around the Majors argues that the J.D. Drew contract- $70MM over five years- isn't quite as bad as people think. Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi tells Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star that he...   Continue Reading

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Boras On The Strasburg Negotiations

Scott Boras told 619 Sports that he was never looking to sign Stephen Strasburg to a $50MM deal, despite reports that he was using Daisuke Matsuzaka's contract as a reference point for the number one overall pick. "I can assure you our first offer was well less than half of that," Boras said. Here are some more points Boras makes over the course of the interview: Boras says revenues around baseball have increased in the last decade, so he argues that money should trickle down to players and draft picks. He also suggests that more teams are holding onto their...   Continue Reading

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Cafardo's Latest: Martinez, Boston, Pitching

In his latest piece for The Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo reports that the Indians turned down an offer of Clay Buchholz for Victor Martinez according to an NL scout. The Red Sox then countered with a package of Michael Bowden, Justin Masterson, and an outfield prospect, but the Indians turned that down as well. Let's round up the rest of Cafardo's rumors... In addition to Boston, the Indians are also fielding offers from the Rays and Giants for Martinez, but aren't inclined to make a deal unless a team's best prospects are involved. Cafardo runs through the list of other...   Continue Reading

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Discussion: Evaluating Theo Epstein

Jim Donaldson of the Providence Journal wrote today that evaluating Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is "as tricky as [Julio] Lugo trying to field a hot grounder." The reason, says Donaldson, is that the Sox can afford to make expensive mistakes like Lugo's contract. Donaldson seems to argue that Epstein is overrated, citing continual problems at shortstop and big contracts to Daisuke Matsuzaka and J.D. Drew as his biggest flaws so far. Well, if our readers can't resolve this, nobody can. What do you think? Does large payroll capacity allow Epstein to get away with mistakes? Where do you rank...   Continue Reading

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Red Sox Contract Notes: Okajima, Drew

According to WEEI's Alex Speier, when Hideki Okajima's 2009 vesting option triggered it also guaranteed that the reliever is under team control through 2012 if the Red Sox want him. There had been some debate about whether Okajima would become arbitration-eligible after his current contract; the answer is yes. Also, WEEI's Rob Bradford notes that J.D. Drew is entering the phase in his five-year contract where certain injury situations would allow the Sox to void the last two years of this deal. It seems unlikely, though.   Continue Reading

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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Holliday, Teixeira, Mussina

A look at what is being written around the Blogosphere... MetsBlog recognizes that Francisco Rodriguez will improve the team and appease fans, but is not sure he is worth a four or five-year deal. Mets Geek projects the Mets '09 roster and looks at some options from outside the organization with Pat Burrell and Derek Lowe being the biggest offseason targets. Was Watching says bringing back Brian Cashman was a mistake. River Ave. Blues assesses the Matt Holliday market and feels that Phil Hughes and Robinson Cano for Holliday "doesn't make much sense." Sox and Pinstripes provides an in-depth preview...   Continue Reading

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