Stephen Drew‘s name might get tossed around early and often at this week’s MLB GM meetings.
According to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, “a bunch of teams [are] moving quick” on Drew in the free-agent market. It’s unclear which teams are interested in Drew or how much interest the Red Sox have in re-signing the shortstop, but it certainly sounds like the market could heat up for his services.
The Red Sox made Drew a $14.1 million qualifying offer last week. He has until 5 p.m. Monday to accept the offer, although signs point toward him rejecting the offer and testing the open market. Peter Gammons reported last week that Drew’s agent, Scott Boras, had already set up a number of meetings concerning the shortstop for Tuesday at the GM Meetings in Orlando, Fla.
Drew, who is coming off a one-year, $9.5 million deal with the Red Sox, hit .253 with 13 home runs and 67 RBIs in 124 regular-season games. He started all 16 of Boston’s playoff games, hitting just .111 (6-for-54) with 19 strikeouts. Drew’s defense remained solid throughout the postseason, which caused Red Sox manager John Farrell to stick with the 30-year-old despite his offensive struggles.
Boras really started pumping Drew’s tires recently. He told CBSSports.com that Drew is among the “top five offensively and defensively at his position,” before saying, “You can’t find a guy with that package.”
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