 |
| http://goo.gl/127dJU |
There was a great article over at the SB Nation blog Over The Monster about how the New York Mets are interested in free agent shortstop Stephen Drew. Some sources are saying that the Mets have given Drew an offer, but others say that that is false information. Whatever the case, the Mets are interested in Drew. He played for the World Series winning Boston Red Sox last season, hitting 13 home runs to go along with a .253 average. He also got on-base at a clip of .333, which is exceptional for a major league shortstop. Drew also plays great defense, and that is one of the reasons that he was the Red Sox's starting shortstop throughout the playoffs. He did not do his best hitting during the postseason, but continued playing because of his somewhat magical defense.
The most probable reason that Drew is still on the market is because, due to a qualifying offer, any team that signs him will lose their first round draft pick. These draft picks are very valuable, potentially turning into baseball's next star player. The chance is slim, but that does not lessen the picks' value. A draft pick will be lost if a team signs Drew because he declined a qualifying offer ($14.1 million), thinking that he could get more money than that. The lost draft pick will be given to the Red Sox as compensation, unless of course the Red Sox end up signing Drew.
Xander Bogaerts, another shortstop/third baseman for the Red Sox, who is 21 years old, is why the Red Sox have yet to sign Drew. They could still sign Drew and play Bogaerts at third base, but they are not yet willing to theoretically lose a draft pick to sign Drew, unless he lowers his asking price. Bogaerts was ranked as the #2 prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com, so the Red Sox would like to give him as much playing time as possible to let him develop.
