Stephen Drew to the Tigers' rescue? Maybe in June
VIERA, Fla. — Check back in June.
That appears to be the logical answer, at the moment, regarding the Detroit Tigers' potential interest in Stephen Drew — and Drew's potential interest in the Tigers.
If, by June, the Tigers need a shortstop and Drew still needs a job, they might be a match.
If the Tigers were to sign Drew now, it would mean that at least one side caved in financially.
Drew, whose agent is Scott Boras, turned down a $14.1-million, one-year offer from Boston for this year, in order to become a free agent. The inference is he thought he could get more than that on a one-year deal or, even better, obtain a multiyear contract.
Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said today that he expects Jose Iglesias to return healthy for next season. Any interest the Tigers have in Drew would appear to be for this year only. (Dombrowski declined today to comment on Drew.)
The Tigers say they are looking for a ninth-place hitter who can make routine plays at short. Such a player usually makes only a fraction of $14 million.
Why should Drew, with the season not even started, take far less than $14 million on a one-year deal? If Drew wants a multiyear contract, he could continue to hope that perhaps the New York Yankees will see him as their third baseman for this season (to replace the suspended Alex Rodriguez) and their shortstop beginning next season (to succeed the retiring Derek Jeter).
And if anyone believes Drew is desperate to get a job before the season starts, then they must understand who Boras is. One reason that Boras has become baseball's most renowned agent is his patience. He said last week that Drew and another free-agent client of his, Kendrys Morales, are willing to wait until June to sign.
For Drew to take far less than $14 million now on a one-year deal with the Tigers would be a humiliating compromise. Boras didn't reach his current pinnacle by doing humiliating compromises.
If the Tigers sign Drew, they must give Boston their first-round pick in this June's draft as compensation. However, after the draft occurs in early June, a club no longer has to give up a future draft pick to sign Drew, 31.
Drew also has his own history with injuries. He started the 2013 season on the DL with a concussion and was activated April 10. He was hit by a pitch in the helmet on March 7 against Minnesota in spring training. In July, he went on the DL again with a right hamstring strain, but came back 15 days later.
If the Tigers aren't getting competent play at short by mid-June ... and if they are losing games because of it ... and if Drew remains unsigned ... then perhaps the Tigers and Drew will compromise on a price and decide it's worth spending the rest of the season with each other.
INTERNAL SHORTSTOP CANDIDATES
Danny Worth
Pros:
He's the one who has the big-league experience at shortstop and overall. He's played 27 games at short in the majors (all for the Tigers) for a total of 219 2/3 innings. Worth has played in 115 games in the majors, compared to 36 for Hernan Perez and none for Eugenio Suarez.
Cons:
If Tigers thought real highly of him, they wouldn't have taken him off the 40-man roster last off-season and given every other team in baseball a chance to claim him. He went unclaimed and is in camp on a minor-league contract. Worth is a .242 career hitter, with two homers in 219 at-bats.
Hernan Perez
Pros:
He's been playing shortstop since he was a kid. He looked poise in the various tasks the Tigers gave him when they called him for the final month and the post-season last year.
Cons:
He hasn't shown he can handle either the physical demands of playing short every day in the majors or hit the minimum (.200?) required to stay in the lineup.
Eugenio Suarez
Pros:
"Suarez continues to surpass expectations every year, and he has a chance to be an everyday shortstop in the major leagues." -- 2014 Baseball America Prospect Handbook
Cons:
He's never played above Double-A. When it was suggested to manager Brad Ausmus today that some players jump from Double-A to the majors, Ausmus said, "Mainly pitchers."
John Lowe writes for the Detroit Free Press.