I want to preface this by saying, I like Stephen Drew. I think that apart from some injury problems he had in 2011 and 2012, he's had a really nice MLB career. He's a strong defensive player and even with a league average bat he's still been worth about a 2-4 WAR through his career.
But he's been absolutely awful in 2014.
Maybe this is a cautionary tale about holding out because Kendrys Morales is struggling mightily as well. I don't blame Cherington for signing Drew, hindsight's 20/20, but at the time it was a really solid move. Get back a guy who was a huge part of your World Series winning team for 4.5 million less than you would have paid them last offseason? It made sense at the time, but has totally blown up in our faces.
Here's just how bad Drew has been. His OPS+ is 15. One-five. His defense is about as good as it's ever been, but offensively he's a total mess. Baseball-Reference calculates his WAR to be -0.4.
I know he's only had 92 plate appearances, but he's not even showing signs of improvement. Sure, he had those two home runs recently, but they are his only two hits this month. His OBP looks to be improving slightly, but he was intentionally walked yesterday. He's been the very definition of dead weight and with our organizational infield depth he's taking at bats away from guys like Betts (either directly by playing Mookie in the IF or by keeping Holt in the outfield instead of at SS) and he's taking up a spot on the 40-man.
For right now, Drew is making the team worse instead of better. I think he's a strong candidate to be DFA'd. Not only is there no benefit to keeping him, but there seems to be a distinct benefit to cutting him.
If he's released, I'll wish him all the luck in the world. I hope he gets a change of scenery and re-builds his value but it's becoming more and more clear that's not going to happen here.
But he's been absolutely awful in 2014.
Maybe this is a cautionary tale about holding out because Kendrys Morales is struggling mightily as well. I don't blame Cherington for signing Drew, hindsight's 20/20, but at the time it was a really solid move. Get back a guy who was a huge part of your World Series winning team for 4.5 million less than you would have paid them last offseason? It made sense at the time, but has totally blown up in our faces.
Here's just how bad Drew has been. His OPS+ is 15. One-five. His defense is about as good as it's ever been, but offensively he's a total mess. Baseball-Reference calculates his WAR to be -0.4.
I know he's only had 92 plate appearances, but he's not even showing signs of improvement. Sure, he had those two home runs recently, but they are his only two hits this month. His OBP looks to be improving slightly, but he was intentionally walked yesterday. He's been the very definition of dead weight and with our organizational infield depth he's taking at bats away from guys like Betts (either directly by playing Mookie in the IF or by keeping Holt in the outfield instead of at SS) and he's taking up a spot on the 40-man.
For right now, Drew is making the team worse instead of better. I think he's a strong candidate to be DFA'd. Not only is there no benefit to keeping him, but there seems to be a distinct benefit to cutting him.
If he's released, I'll wish him all the luck in the world. I hope he gets a change of scenery and re-builds his value but it's becoming more and more clear that's not going to happen here.