Four teams remain in on free agent shortstop Stephen Drew, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN.com. Two of those clubs are the oft-rumored Red Sox and Mets, but the other two remain unknown.
Though several other organizations have been mentioned in the past as hypothetical landing spots, there has not been much in the way of firm reports connecting Drew with alternative destinations. Though Bowden does not indicate the strenght of interest from the two mystery clubs, it bodes well for Drew that his market extends beyond Boston and New York.
Of course, the issue still facing Drew is that none of his apparent suitors appears to have significant urgency to add him, making it difficult to drive up his price. The Mets, for instance, are not willing to pay Drew in the vicinity of the $14.1MM qualifying offer that he already declined, according to a recent report from Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter).
They’re here- the mystery teams.
It’s a Boras thing.
The mystery teams have been fairly quiet this offseason.
As long as he doesn’t go back to the Redsox I dont care where he goes. They need to see what they have in X and MIddlebrooks.
Middlebrooks is just not that good. It could be risky if they go into the season with a prospect, and him at that side of infield.
X looks like he’s going to be something special, but I think you’re overrating Middlebrooks and I don’t suspect him to get much better.
Half season to a year. 3b should be the only position where they could have an issue next year. Cecchini/WMB.. One will pan out. CF? JBJ, Sizemore and if both have troubles, they can move Victorino over and let Nava play RF and just platoon Gomes/Carp in left.
Drew doesn’t fit in Boston at all, it’s why I don’t even think they need him for 1y. 2 would be awful.
He does fit. They may not be a need for him necessarily, but they’re a better team with him than without.
That said, they can afford to take risks with 3B and CF. Things won’t go so wrong there that they can’t readdress at the trade deadline.
Not sure where the OF becomes relevant. It’s not like we are talking about JD. The issue with 3B is that Cecchini is still a year off and the Red Sox are always in win now mode. I think Middlebrooks is a considerable question mark and with Dempster coming off the books the Red Sox have money to work with. I would be interested to see if they have any interest in Cruz. If everyone is healthy and JBJ doesn’t struggle that outfield could be really crowded, but at the same time Cruz is a significant upgrade from Carp/Gomes if he isn’t.
Brought up CF as the other position with question marks heading into 2014, but it’s more easily covered than is 3b with multiple in house moves on hand.
Boston is the last team in the league I see Cruz signing with. They don’t pay large sums for poor plate discipline, especially combined with his age, poor defense and loss of the 1st round draft pick. It won’t happen in Boston, even after the draft if he’s still available and compensation is off the table.
He doesn’t have to get any better though to replace Drew’s bat. X needs to play short all year and Drew really doesn’t have much to offer anywhere else. WMB didn’t learn when to swing early in the count last year as he just took the first pitch or two then got behind and couldn’t dig out of a 0-1, 0-2, of 1-2 count. If he develops the common sense to take a few early split fingers for a ride his success will go up. Hopefully he will learn that from Ortiz or Petey this spring.
I honestly think the Yankees are one, due to Jeter retiring and having no back up option should he get hurt again. They could also move Jeter to third and play drew at short
If Jeter didn’t move to third for A-Rod, he’s not moving for Drew.
Jeter wasn’t 40 when A-Rod came to town, either.
True, but I don’t see the Yankees moving Jeter off of SS during his farewell season. It doesn’t make sense, but they also did give him huge money the last few years despite his age.
However when Jeter gets hurt this year (not if) the MFY’s will need someone to replace him. For the Yank’s third and second are big question marks so they should be looking to sign Drew for that reason until the eventual “Jeter gets hurt” thread starts.
That’s what Brendan Ryan and Eduardo Nunez are for.
Jeter also wasn’t coming off a season where he hurt his leg and only played 17 games. And you need to have good legs to play short
Jeter also wasn’t coming off a season where he hurt his leg and only played 17 games. And you need to have good legs to play short
I think the Yankees make the most sense. Put Drew at 3B for this year, then next year put him at SS once Jeter retires and Arod comes back
The problem is, Drew (or perhaps it’s Boras) wants an opt out after 1 year which is a big reason why no team has signed him. If he wasn’t looking for an opt out after the first year, I think there’s a good chance he’d be on a team right now, whether it’s Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, etc.
Give him an NFL style Tom Dempsey opt out.. Google Tom Dempsey for the old Baltimore Colts… He was a very special player…
Edit:
Oh man.. I just read about his issues that he is now going through. The guy really has struggled since football.
Could you explain this? You got me sufficiently curious because Dempsey never played for the Colts so I googled it. . .and can’t find anything.
You are right. I was going from long ago memory initially, then looked it up and it was the Saints. Then looked up the sad story of his recent concussion issues on that Jan 2013 issue of the NYT.
He was a “rave” type player when originally made that 63yd FG however and his “foot” was a hit of sorts all of a sudden. That special shoe he wore as well if you looked it up.
I was more curious about the ‘Tom Dempsey opt out’. I googled that and couldn’t find anything about that.
Completely agree. I don’t see any team giving him that luxury.
Completely agree. I don’t see any team giving him that luxury.
I think signing Drew for 2 years is the worst thing you could do, unless you have a potential SS in your system. A one year deal allows you to sign one of the SS in the 2015 free agent class (there are 4-5 starting SS in 2015). A 2 year deal just prevents you from reaping the benefits of 2015, and puts you in the same hole in 2016. I would almost rather a 3 year deal
Signing Drew to a 1 year deal is a terrible move for any team not named the Red Sox.
I agree, but I still think 2 is the worst case scenario
You have a better chance of being a sentient pile of $100 bills than Derek Jeter playing third base for any team, ever.
Jeter to third ? Are you kidding after19 years at short that’s crazy I don’t
think he has the arm for some of the long throws.
He also didn’t have the defensive ability for short so what is the difference?
Jeter to third ? Are you kidding after19 years at short that’s crazy I don’t
think he has the arm for some of the long throws.
Before Jeter announced his retirement I was saying that Jeter should openly come out and say he wants Stephen Drew on this team and he is willing to move to second to make it happen. It would be the last of many classy moves we have seen Jeter make to make sure the Yankees are in the best position to win. I also believe that it would make it a lot easier for him to stay on the field. That being said, now that it’s virtually a guarantee that it is going to be his last season, it would be a shame to see him dethroned for just the one season.
Bowden was fed this 4 team, mystery hype from Boras himself.
Yankees are def one, no matter what they say.
I feel like if the Yankees are going to sign anyone else, its going to be Diaz…not Drew.
Diaz won’t help much this year and he is projected to move to 2B
Exactly, we need a 2B once Roberts goes down. Diaz can stay in AAA until then
The Yankees can have him. Aside from his defense he really wasn’t much of an addition for the Sox last year. Sure he had a few big hits here and there but that isn’t worth the rumored 14 million a year that Boras is looking to get him. The Sox already offered him 14 million as a qualifying offer. Way to burn the bridge for you client Bor-ass.
The Yankees don’t want him
I don’t blame them if they don’t.
I have not heard Boras looking for 14 million a year. He just wants more years than 1-2. Players not really concerned as much with the AAV, its the total dollars even if the AAV is lower.
Second base for the O’s
Why? Their top position prospect plays 2b.
If the Red Sox have indeed made him an offer and he hasn’t already accepted then just move on. Why you wouldn’t want to come back to a team that just won the World Series when you don’t have many suitors to begin with is beyond me.
He most likely wants a multi year deal.
Drew is getting more “press” than other free agents perhaps because
of indecision on his part or poor advice from his agent. I don’t understand it ! We aren’t talking Ozzie Smith here !
I hope those 4 teams have got somebody to platoon with him.
Crossing my fingers one of them is the Pirates, but that will never happen
Unless they are going to put him at first base, I’m not sure how Drew makes any sense for the Pirates.
Actually it does make sense. Mercer to 2B, Walker to 1B.
No, Mercer would move to third, Pedro to first.
Scott Boras would never allow Alvarez to move to 1B. Besides, 2nd is Mercer’s best defensive position.
If Drew was a lot cheaper and didn’t have a draft pick tied to him, I could maybe see that. For that price though, just sign Morales. Or trade for Smoak, keep the draft pick, save $10MM and there’s no need to shuffle around the infield.
Do the Pirates REALLY want to give up their 1st round draft pick just to sign a league average SS, then overpay him for the privilege because his agent is Boras?
Could he be an option to play second base for the O’s?
Drew’s value come mainly from his glove not his bat, moving him to a position he has never played in the MLB would be a mistake. Plus if he was going to move, SS generally move to 3B not 2B
So him ranking 8th in WOBA for SS’s over 300 PA’s is him being a bad bat? That’s ahead of Reyes and Hardy. His UZR ranked 12th last year, which would suggest he steady with both, but premium because of his bat.
Drew was had a good offensive 2013 (.337 wOBP) but his wOBP was .291 in 2012 and .315 in 2011. There is more to a player than his 2013 stats.
Well. he was coming off an ankle injury in 2012 and 2011 was shortened by the same injury. Previous to this, his full season stats look remarkably like his 2013 stats
He’s not a bad bat, just not a difference maker, although against good pitching in the post season he was sorely exposed. Drew is a good player, he just has a bad agent. Any one in their right mind would have analyzed the market and grabbed the $14M QO. Boras blew it.
He absolutely kills RHP’ers which are 70% of a players AB’s. There have been SS who have moved to 2B although the transition is not as easy as 3B
He absolutely kills RHP’ers which are 70% of a players AB’s. There have been SS who have moved to 2B although the transition is not as easy as 3B
Reds? Maybe Bobby C is going to spend some money now and try to get a bargain and upgrade at SS. Hey I can hope right?
I hope next year a few of these players figure out accepting a QO isn’t such a bad thing.
Being forced to sign a one year contract at the risk of lowering your value on the free agent market and punishing a team that actually wants and needs to sign you isn’t necessarily a good thing either.
This needs to be fixed.
“Forced” really?
Really.
Forced (def) – obtained or imposed by coercion or physical power.
Not really at all.
Mets, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays
He’s not worth a first round pick, he’s gonna spend the entire season injured. This is Boras trying to make his client sound better. Guess he’s resorting to that now that he knows he messed up with Drews contract.
Neither the Yankees or Mets and about 12 other teams would lose a 1st round pick. Drew has been relatively healthy in his career except for a broken ankle in a home plate collision.
Yep, averaging 73 games a year for the past 5 years even with him playing 124 games last year counts as relatively healthy.
Either you’re looking at incorrect figures or you’re bad at math, but according to Baseball Reference, he has played in 575 games in the past 5 seasons, or 115 per.
2013: 124
2012: 79
2011: 86
2010: 151
2009: 135
Neither the Yankees or Mets and about 12 other teams would lose a 1st round pick. Drew has been relatively healthy in his career except for a broken ankle in a home plate collision.
He’s going to be signed soon, whoever it is.
I don’t want him back in Boston if it means he takes Middlebrooks or Bogaerts spots.
Boras’ tricks are evolving, now its the unknown team not the mystery team.
As long as it’s not the Mets signing him, I don’t care where he goes.
Why, so they can play Wilmer Flores at SS? Oh wait, you non-ironically want that. Nonsense. Drew is a massive upgrade over both Tejada and Flores at SS and he’s definitely worth giving up a third round pick for.
What’s nonsense is you being desperate paying $14 million for a guy who’s played 289 games in 3 seasons & can barely hit over .250. Heard this last year about how Bourn was such a “massive upgrade”, and what happened again? Came undone in Cleveland. Discounting a kid like Flores before you even see what he can do is even more ridiculous.
He was moved off of shortstop two years ago for a reason. Flores is big, has no range, or foot speed. His range at second has been described as barely passable.
Drew is a career .264/.329/.435 hitter who plays very good defense. That’s a valuable shortstop
Drew is not the same hitter before the ankle injury. A line of .241/.324/.406/.730 afterward is NOT one of a valuable player, especially for $14 million. This team needs a young SS in the worst way. For the record, Flores spent the winter in fitness boot camp in Michigan & he looks to be in magnificent shape, so all that “he’s too big for the position” talk is no longer relevant.
From 2006 to 2011, Stephen Drew posted a 162-game average of .270/.330/.442 with 12 home runs, 28 doubles, 8 triples, and 6 stolen bases over 515 plate appearances.
In 2013, Stephen Drew hit .253/.333/.443 with 13 home runs, 29 doubles, 8 triples, and 6 stolen bases over 501 plate appearances.
The numbers say that Stephen Drew is the exact same hitter he was before his ankle injury.
So you telling me Drew will be the exact same hitter in Citi that he was in places like Chase & Fenway? Sorry, I don’t see it.
Michael Bourn battled injuries all season and only played in 130 games. In those 130 games he was worth 2-2.4 WAR, which translates to a value of $10-$12 million. That means he was worth roughly the $12 million Cleveland paid him.
Will he be roughly worth the money Cleveland pays him should he continue to be ravaged with injuries? He’s now 31 and few speedsters age gracefully & continue to play at a high level. Ask J-Roll in Philly how he’s progressing.
Earlier in the offseason, the Yankees made several offers at once and informed players/agents that it was basically first-come-first-serve. The Yankees offered Drew an offer for 2 or 3 years according to Sherman. He turned it down and is now stuck in this dilemma. <- This tells me the Yankees have no more money to spend on him or they would have signed him by now. OR maybe they are waiting for his price to drop significantly since they did at one point have interest
Earlier in the offseason, the Yankees made several offers at once and informed players/agents that it was basically first-come-first-serve. The Yankees offered Drew an offer for 2 or 3 years according to Sherman. He turned it down and is now stuck in this dilemma. <- This tells me the Yankees have no more money to spend on him or they would have signed him by now. OR maybe they are waiting for his price to drop significantly since they did at one point have interest
At what price are these teams “in” on Drew, I wonder. Hard to value the guy — great glove, has potential in his bat, still youngish at 30, but has real trouble staying healthy. Feels like we have been waiting for Drew to arrive forever.
If you are 30 you have shown what you are, meaning his bat is what it is.
The “Drew has trouble staying healthy” label is so wrong. I can only think folks confuse him with his brother. He had one significant injury due to a homeplate collision that affected 2 years. Every other year he has over 500 PA. Last year he had a couple of minor injuries (concussion from being beaned) and a couple of weeks with a hamstring. Can’t call him brittle for being beaned.
The “Drew has trouble staying healthy” label is so wrong. I can only think folks confuse him with his brother. He had one significant injury due to a homeplate collision that affected 2 years. Every other year he has over 500 PA. Last year he had a couple of minor injuries (concussion from being beaned) and a couple of weeks with a hamstring. Can’t call him brittle for being beaned.
The Yankees know Jeter isn’t lasting more than 20 games, sign Drew short term but big money as a stop gap.
wait….he turned down a 14 million dollar qualifying offer??? WTH. Dude is worth about 7 per. : /
That’s not true at all. Even including the time Drew missed with the ankle injury and his terrible 2012 in which he was fighting back from that injury, he has averaged 2.3 WAR/season over the past 5 years. With 1.0 WAR valued at about $6 million he has been worth $13.8 million/season each of the last 5 years and is all about a guarantee to surpass the 1.2 WAR you think he will produce.
1 win above replacement level is worth 6 mil? i’ll still pass. Him making 14+ a year is awful. I thought Elvis had an awful contract but i guarantee he’s better defensively and on the bases than Drew, and 5 years younger. He should have taken the 14 mil IMO.
When 4 teams are interested in a player the price should go up since in a competitive budding process no team can be assured that he won’t sign with another that comes in with a higher bid.
All these teams, rich and poor, big and small seem to know what the other teams offer is, and are unwilling to exceed it, and that is exactly what happens with a word that starts with c and rhymes with illusion. Obviously, its business as usual for the elite end of the market, which is a smart twist for a league that’s been caught 4 times at it since it makes it harder to prove.
Being interested does not imply interested at the asking price. Cano wanted 300 million, Jimenez wanted 100 million. Could be none of those 4 want to do more than like 4 years 30 million and they probably don’t want to give him an opt out every year which puts all of the downside risk with the team and gives all of the upside benefit to the player.
Being interested does not imply interested at the asking price. Cano wanted 300 million, Jimenez wanted 100 million. Could be none of those 4 want to do more than like 4 years 30 million and they probably don’t want to give him an opt out every year which puts all of the downside risk with the team and gives all of the upside benefit to the player.
Being “interested” isn’t the same thing as being “interested” to the point of being willing to get involved in a bidding war for the player. And that doesn’t mean collusion. A team might say we’re “interested” but only if the player will accept X per year. Is that collusion? I think not. It’s just setting one’s perception of what the player is worth and not being willing to exceed that number. And it’s not like Drew is some franchise player who might be worth getting into a bidding war to acquire his services. He’s a nice player but not one that teams are going to bust their budget to sign.
I don’t see the collusion. Cano got $65M more Seattle, the Yankees probably paid close to $30M more for Elsbury, Peralta got $20M more than predicted, etc. With all that information sharing you suppose, it’s not appearing in the actual contracts. The unhappiness of the QO five is not proof that there’s collusion.
One would first have to believe there are four actual MLB teams interested. I believe no such thing. These players are not victims, they are making bad choices which in the real world we are held accountable for.
When 4 teams are interested in a player the price should go up since in a competitive budding process no team can be assured that he won’t sign with another that comes in with a higher bid.
All these teams, rich and poor, big and small seem to know what the other teams offer is, and are unwilling to exceed it, and that is exactly what happens with a word that starts with c and rhymes with illusion. Obviously, its business as usual for the elite end of the market, which is a smart twist for a league that’s been caught 4 times at it since it makes it harder to prove.
Blue jays are the dark horse but red soxs will get him
The 4th mystery team is the Rangers! They need a short sto…..a second basem….a third….wait, never mind
I don’t want to see him in a mets uniform. It seems he wants to be a one year hired hand for us and opt out. Then we lose a high draft pick. For .256 hitter ? Yeah no
What Drew would provide Boston is the ability to make a significant trade involving players on their big league roster, without depleting it.
I am one that thinks WMB will be a solid major league player, but adding Drew will bring a great deal of depth.
The Yankees make a great deal of sense. Kelly Johnson can platoon with Brian Roberts at second base. Drew would play third with Jeter at shortstop. If Jeter gets hurt then Drew becomes your shortstop with Johnson playing 3B full time and Roberts playing 2B full time. Then next year Alex Rodriguez is back and Jeter is retired. Therefore, A-Rod plays 3B and Drew plays short next year.
I don’t think many people don’t read up on the Draft. This year is rated as one of the Best Drafts in years. Sox want that pick. Lots of teams don’t want to lose that 1st pick. Cards went with Perralta, and they got the 28th pick. If Drew signs with the Sox it will be under their terms. Cherrington is becoming like a Mozeliak, that is good news for the Sox fans.
Drafting isn’t a crapshoot if you have Good Scouts, Sox and Cards are paying more money in this area, and development.
There is reason if they sign someone a Draft Pick isn’t lost. Smart.
Tim to trade Syndergaard, Lagares and Florres for STANTON.
That package is way better then the Marlins got for Leiter, PIazza, and Delgado for a COMBINED Ed Yarnell, Preston Wilson, AJ Burnett, Mike Jacobs, and Yousmero Petit.
Stanton is the next Miggy, on the same career path as Miggy was with the Marlins. Time to ante up and get someone if they put him BEHIND WRIGHT, Wright would win a battle title every other year, hit 50% more HRs and double his steals all from the quality of pitches he sees with a menace like Stanton behind him.
Another year of Ike Davis behind him and I will be sick. Especially when they are thinking of batting Granderson 1st or 2nd.
ERIC YOUNG IS NOT A STARTING MLB OFer. .350 OBP…….that has to be the worst among leadoff hitters. If they got that last BIG piece then they would be set.
But instead they infer that they will get Hanley Ramirez at SS next year……..yeah right, I will believe it when I see it, as he will want 18M a year minimum and 7 years.
I wouldn’t trade Snydergard–he has the potential to be a true #1 type starter. Stanton certainly is a quality hitter but I would build the staff with the hope that Harvey returns from injury in 2015 and the team has GREAT pitching. I truly believe the Mets will go all out in free agency to acquire a hitter next year that will give them the offense necessary to make the playoffs.
I wouldn’t trade Snydergard–he has the potential to be a true #1 type starter. Stanton certainly is a quality hitter but I would build the staff with the hope that Harvey returns from injury in 2015 and the team has GREAT pitching. I truly believe the Mets will go all out in free agency to acquire a hitter next year that will give them the offense necessary to make the playoffs.
So obviously we all know Stephen Drew bats left handed…but why??? He’s right handed…he could probably cut down on the swings and misses if he batted with his dominant hand. His swing looks like my swing wen I started hitting switch in high school. Just saying. Not bashing Drew but maybe he should consider it.
Let’s hear it for Scott Boras, the man whose business motto is “There’s a sucker born every minute.’ (and he is usually the GM I am getting to overpay my client by making him believe the client is a hot commodity).