Infielder Stephen Drew is testing the free agency waters.
According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, the New York Yankees are interested in the former Arizona Diamondback and Oakland Athletic.
The 30-year-old shortstop might no longer be an solid offensive player. He might have missed a lot of time over the past few seasons due to ankle injuries. True, he is not a long term solution, but he could be a solid fit for the Yankees.
According to the Twitter feed of ESPN’s Buster Olney, Stephen Drew has no interest in being a “super utility guy.” Drew wants to have an everyday job.
The Yankees will be offering him exactly that. In fact, he would have more chances to play every day in New York than in many of the other potential landing spots.
The idea that Drew would be a temporary stopgap or super sub would only be true if one assumes that Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez will be back at full strength.
According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Alex Rodriguez might not even be ready by July. At age 37, he is mainly needed for his bat rather than his glove.
According to Paul White of USA Today, Derek Jeter is struggling to make it to opening day, and at age 38, he is well beyond the age that even Hall of Fame players are regular shortstops.
By 38, Cal Ripken was a part-time third baseman, and Ozzie Smith was playing his second to last season as a full-time player. By that age, Robin Yount was retired, and none of these Hall of Famers were coming off of ankle surgery.
There is no reason to assume that either Alex Rodriguez or Derek Jeter will play even 90 games in the field in 2013.
A job in the Bronx would be a full-time one for Drew, and the Yankees should sign an everyday infielder to insert into the lineup for 162 games next season.
There is no chance manager Joe Girardi will be able to pencil in Jeter and Rodriguez for most of the games.
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