Stephen Drew was awful this season. You’d never know it listening to the shortstop’s agent, Scott Boras.
Drew signed a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox in May after sitting out the beginning of the season while trying to land a multiyear contract in free agency. The 31-year-old, who later was traded to the New York Yankees, hit just .162 with seven homers, 26 RBIs and a .536 OPS in 85 games, but Boras insists major league teams should look at the bigger picture with regards to his client.
“I would say clubs would spend a good deal of time focusing on his career offensive statistics as opposed to a couple of hundred at-bats,” Boras told the New York Post on Tuesday. “Defensively, he is still elite and a lot of teams will have interest in him as a shortstop.”
Drew’s defense is strong. Red Sox manager John Farrell was such a fan of Drew’s glove work last October that he kept the struggling shortstop in the lineup despite a horrendous offensive stat line. Drew hit .111 (6-for-54) with 19 strikeouts in Boston’s 16 playoff games in 2013.
“Everybody knows about the free-agent shortstop market,” Boras said. “Clearly, Stephen Drew is the best defensive shortstop and he has pop.”
Drew produced offensively with the Red Sox in 2013 before flopping in the playoffs. He also had some success with the Arizona Diamondbacks over parts of seven seasons from 2006 to 2012. There’s a recent enough track record to suggest Drew shouldn’t be written off entirely, but signing him to a multiyear deal this winter would be a gamble given the recent struggles.
“If it’s a multiyear (contract), I don’t think it would be a long one,” Boras said. “I trust this player.”
The Yankees obviously need a shortstop with Derek Jeter retiring. It’s unclear whether the organization will consider re-signing Drew, but the nine-year veteran acknowledged he really liked playing in New York.
Photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
