Stephen Drew aware Boston Red Sox may trade him
By Bryan Rose
When Stephen Drew decided to decline the Boston Red Sox’s one-year, $14.1 million dollar qualifying offer this Winter, many wondered what the shortstop was thinking. Understandably he was looking to secure more than just a one-year deal, but when interest in the infielder dried up, he was left hanging.
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Given his contract demands and the fact that an acquiring team would have to forfeit their earliest available draft pick, few teams seriously contemplated signing Stephen Drew who waited until after the June amateur draft to sign.
Not shockingly he returned to the team who had originally attempted to retain him, the Boston Red Sox, though at a far lesser salary. Now he knows with the Red Sox in a youth movement, his time in Beantown may be coming to an end in the near future.
“I don’t know. Who knows?” Drew said recently. “Hopefully I’m here for the year. But I can’t tell you that.”
Drew, a solid defensive talent, hasn’t ever been overly useful with the stick and isn’t likely to command much on the trade market. However, given the lack of quality shortstops in Major League Baseball, it’s likely a handful of teams will express interest in trading for the veteran.
There’s little reason for the Boston Red Sox to keep him around, especially if they have no desires to re-sign him at season end and given his affordable salary, he should be an easy move.
Again, they won’t get a massive haul in such a trade but some assets are better than no assets.