Free agent shortstop Stephen Drew reportedly has a three-year, $39 million offer from a mystery team, according to reports. At least that's what several places are reporting that Drew's agent, Scott Boras, is telling general managers. Those figures are dulling interest from the New York Yankees, who appear interested but not at that price.
Are the Mets out on Stephen Drew?
It's unclear how truthful Boras is being, as simultaneous reports had Drew willing to sign on the dotted line with the Detroit Tigers for one year and $14 million. Detroit moved on without Drew, trading for shortstop Alex Gonzalez to replace injured gloveman Jose Iglesias.
The obvious fit is in the Bronx, where their infield post-Robinson Cano has received a lot of negative attention for it's age, injury risk, and general range. "It's got to be the worst in baseball," one scout told CBS Sports.
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Still, the money Drew is commanding is too rich for even the Yankees' blood, as they've already shelled out serious dough for the upgrades they made to compensate for losing Cano. CBS' Jon Heyman wrote:
"And yet, the Yankees once again said they couldn't make an offer to top free-agent shortstop Stephen Drew. The Yankees and Drew's agent, Scott Boras, are said to have talked in the past couple days, but the main message for now apparently is that the Yankees are "tapped out," meaning out of money."
While Drew would certainly be a quality backup for Derek Jeter, and may even be able to start at second or third base, it's not hard to see why New York is balking at the contract demand. Last season with the World Series champion Red Sox, Drew batted .253 with 13 home runs, 67 RBI, and six stolen bases.
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Offensively his numbers won't make pitchers quake in their cleats, but defensively he was very sound as well; in fact, he was worth 10.9 runs for Boston with the glove according to Fangraphs.com, and was worth 3.4 WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Whether or not that equals $40 million, however, remains to be seen.
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