Veteran infielder Stephen Drew is hanging up his spikes, he tells Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter links). The fifteenth overall pick of the 2004 draft, Drew ended up playing a dozen seasons in the majors.
Drew was in the Nationals’ locker room this evening to visit his former teammates. He ultimately finished out his career with two years in D.C. — a strong, bounceback effort in 2016 followed by an injury-plagued final go last season.
From the time he was chosen out of Florida State University by the Diamondbacks, Drew was on a fast track to the majors. He spent nearly half of the 2006 season in the bigs, turning in a productive debut effort that preceded several years of duty as the D-Backs’ regular shortstop. Drew’s output waned at the tail end of his time in Arizona, but he finished his stint there with over three thousand plate appearances of .266/.328/.436 hitting.
Dealt to the A’s in August of 2012, after a rough start to a season in which he was returning from a major ankle injury, Drew turned in a solid effort down the stretch. That led to a one-year free-agent deal with the Red Sox. After turning in 501 plate appearances of .253/.333/.443 hitting in Boston, Drew received and declined a qualifying offer.
The ensuing winter was one of note for the still-nascent qualifying offer system. Drew and Kendrys Morales each languished on the market after rejecting their offers, with organizations balking at the cost not only of salary but also of a top draft selection. With Drew prepared to wait until the June draft, at which time he’d have been freed of the compensation rules, he went back to the Sox on another one-year contract that promised him a pro-rated portion of the QO price (then $14.1MM).
Unfortunately, Drew’s second go with the Red Sox did not go as well as the first. He ended up finishing the 2014 season with the Yankees, moving to second base and then reprising that same role for the ensuing campaign.
When Drew hit the open market in the 2015-16 winter, he was coming off of a two-year stretch in which he slashed just .185/.257/.347 in his two stops. But he picked up a reserve utility role with the Nationals — whose GM, Mike Rizzo, had been the D-Backs’ director of scouting when Drew was taken — and rewarded the club with a .266/.339/.524 batting line and eight home runs in his 165 plate appearances.
Drew says his non-playing days will begin with a gig coaching his kids. MLBTR wishes him the best of luck in that and any future endeavors.
One of my favorite players from the 2013 Red Sox. Dude could really hit
Oops typo. You wrote “could really hit.”
We know you meant “couldn’t really hit”
Ironically, his Yankees’ tenure, would not be remembered as fondly as his Red Sox one, but I respect Stephen Drew, the person. Class Act all-around, never had any problems. Obviously, Long time away; think He’d make a helluva coach.
What he has he done to implicate he’ll be any good at coaching at all ?
Perhaps his 12 seasons in the major leagues, 4 postseason appearances and a World Series title? Perhaps playing alongside several guaranteed hall of famers like David Ortiz, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and perhaps future HoF’s like Strasburg, Harper, and Scherzer?
A pretty good CV for someone seeking to be a baseball coach, I think.
Not sure if you’re serious but I’m bored so here you go. A CV is a curriculum vitae, which is a latin phrase that means “fancy résumé”. In the United States, it (both the latin phrase and the actual thing) are mainly used in the academic, mathematical, and scientific fields: teachers, scientists, some medical professionals, etc…
The typical résumé format doesn’t really work for these fields because teachers often teach in multiple classes and places at once, and their accomplishments stretch beyond simply teaching assigned courses (extracurricular programs run, tutorship programs, internal research, etc…).
Similarly, researchers are often working on complex research projects that don’t really make sense when condensed into a simple résumé line like “I Explored Cancer… 2012-2016”. Thus, a more comprehensive format is required.
Actually I’m pretty sure CV does stand for “cool viking”
Most Packers fans agree that there are NO cool Vikings…
He would have been an upgrade for a lot of teams.
Like who?
St. Paul Saints?
Are you sure
“whose GM, Mike Rizzo, had been the D-Backs’ director of scouting when Drew was taken”
Some words are missing at the end of this.
Should probably say “…when Drew was drafted.”
How do people not understand what was meant in some of these articles? Taken is a word that also means drafted…it’s fine the way it is
Unless you mean taken as in Liam Neeson has a particular set of skills
You beat me to the punch, lol
I thought it meant taken like virginity
I liked him with the Sox.. hope he enjoys retirement.
Good that Drew publicly announced his retirement. As all Yankees fans know, Drew actually retired just before he joined the Yankees but never told anyone.
Don’t blame him for that one, blame the Yankees.
Nobody really thought that was a great move, but of course the Yankees were desperate for infielders and took a chance on a low-risk move. This was a team that had Brian Roberts, Rob Refsnyder, Jose Pirela, and Dean Anna at second base.
Stephen Drew was hardly the worst they had manning the keystone, nor the highest paid. Such is the vacuum left by Robinson Cano.
Cano is already a near HOF, and is likely to continue to produce over the next couple of years, Eventually, he’s going hit the aging wall, and the last few years of his contract are likely to be difficult. They weren’t wrong not to give him that length of deal. They messed up in repurposing that money..
Everyone is talking about the end of his career with the Red Sox and Yankees, which I understand because most Northeast fans don’t realize that baseball is played in the rest of the country, but this guy was a borderline superstar in Arizona. It didn’t always show up in the stats, but I can say as a Rockies fan that I didn’t want to see this guy at the plate late in a tie game with a runner on 2nd. He’d beat you almost every time. I think he will make a good manager one day if he chooses.
Not quite a feared hitter but, he definitely had his moments. I agree 100% he didn’t get enough credit in AZ. For some reason Dbacks don’t seem to get enough attention. Goldschmidt is arguably a top 5 player in the league but you don’t hear his name enough in my opinion.
Borderline superstar? Drew was overhyped who never lived up to his Sox contract. That said, he was steady in the field and occasionally hit in the clutch. For Boras and Drew to decline a $14m+ qualifying offer was probably the beginning of the change of contract negotiations.
Lots of free agents didn’t live up to their contract. At one time it seemed money was given out with no true logic behind it.
Sweeping generalizations and made up scenarios to fit your narrative. That’s Internet 101, folks.
Or maybe people just tend to talk about the more recent thing because we aren’t elephants
Stephen was a giant part of that magical 2013 Sox championship. Solid hitter and a great defender, just not flashy. All the best in retirement big guy!
It was fun to watch this guy play defense, I was always a Drew fan.
Best of luck for Drew’s coaching career. Great D’back player.
A pretty decent career and respectable guy. Good luck in the post MLB life! Not too shabby of a career.
I got nothing bad to say about Stephen Drew. Congrats on a great career and that 13’ WS ring!
Good luck in retirement. Good glove first guy, who wasn’t horrible with the bat.
A fine career. Drew always had a slick glove, best of luck.
Five people disagree with wishing a man good luck in retirement? Five class acts.
I’m going to assume it’s because you have plaid in your photo and plaid is terrible
Seven class acts, possibly nine. It’s not plaid, it’s a tartan. Big difference. Keep the class coming, lads.
Why? I’m sure the A’s would sign him again this year.
The A’s actually have a good team rycm131 who’s he better than on the A’s? I swear, the A’s could win the World Series and they will still get crap for just being the A’s.
He was no JD but he had a nice little career.
I still say Refsnyder > Drew in 2014
Why are you still saying that 4 years later? It’s time to move on buddy.
Drew was a good contributor to the Nats when he was healthy. Good luck to him in his retirement.
He was a bust who got greedy in the end and cost himself. Good riddance to another overrated under performer.
And how was your MLB career, please?
With so many players who have played in the majors in history, having 1000+ hits 100+ HRs is a successful career from my perspective. He was a good player on his best seasons early with Arizona. He was just inconsistent, but you can’t blame him for wanting to get a decent contract for himself when they all do it.
So Drew will be on the HOF ballot in ‘22 or ‘23?
Overpaid mediocrity imo. Only three seasons of a WAR of 3 or higher. At least he isn’t a d*ck like his brother.
A duck?
I’m assuming he just passed the 10 year service time qualifying him for the full pension