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| Stephen Drew is back with the Red Sox. Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images |
In what has been a long and at times strange road for Stephen Drew since winning the World Series with the Red Sox last season, he returns back to Boston for the remainder of this season. It was a very long offseason for Drew who after last season tested the free agency market, could not find a team that would take a chance on him, even on a one year deal.
By: Michael Hanley
The deal for Drew is for the remainder of this season for around $10 million, just a little less than what he turned down from the Red Sox this past offseason. Boston had offered Drew a one year, $14.1 million qualifying offer to remain with the team for the 2014 season. Declining that offer meant that Drew had draft pick compensation attached to him which was one big reason why he sat on the open market and got no real interest from any team. It was a move that was looking like a bad decision altogether up until he was able to strike a deal with the club this time around. The $10 million is the prorated version of that deal he turned down, calculated for the remaining games of this season.
Its a win-win for both sides as Stephen Drew gets to enter back into the major leagues and get an opportunity to restart his career with the team he won a World Series title with. He was not a big slugger for the Red Sox last season but he more than provided stability at a very crucial position in the infield: shortstop. He sealed the infield defense for Boston with his ability to get to balls quickly, use his range to keep balls from getting through the infield for hits, not make many errors and had his hand in many executed double plays. His offense was solid enough as he batted .253 with 13 home runs and 67 RBIs for the season.
Its a win-win for both sides as Stephen Drew gets to enter back into the major leagues and get an opportunity to restart his career with the team he won a World Series title with. He was not a big slugger for the Red Sox last season but he more than provided stability at a very crucial position in the infield: shortstop. He sealed the infield defense for Boston with his ability to get to balls quickly, use his range to keep balls from getting through the infield for hits, not make many errors and had his hand in many executed double plays. His offense was solid enough as he batted .253 with 13 home runs and 67 RBIs for the season.
The other side of that win-win is the Red Sox getting improvement on the left side of their infield. They have been looking for some stability at third base this season as they have been struggling mightily to get any consistent offense from that position. The man who has had that position, Will Middlebrooks, is only batting .197 this season and had not been able to stay healthy as he is on the disabled list once again. Boston’s thinking is that if they move rookie Xander Bogaerts back to third base and insert Stephen Drew at shortstop, they could rekindle that chemistry and magic the two had playing at those positions during the postseason run of last season.
Drew is said to be in shape but will need some time and possibly some starts in the minor leagues before he can come back up to the big club. Its a move that is smart of Boston to try out, little else out there in terms of players on the market still who could be an improvement and fit like Drew is for the Red Sox.
Sometimes the grass is not always greener on the other side, Stephen Drew found that out and has smartly returned back to the defending champions.
