Papelbon's Poutine said:
I think a lot of us are still waiting for someone taking this stance to make a case as to why Drew would agree to sign on for a platoon roll? Or why it would be smart to spend $10M+ on a platoon player, even if it's the heavy half of one?
Well who knows what Drew would agree to, I think we all assume he is only coming back if the rest of the market completely dries up.
But I don't think it's hard at all to rationalize spending 10M on Drew in a vacuum for the 2014 season. It's pretty clear the team thinks Drew/Xander is better overall value offensively and defensively vs. right handed starters. This was true in October 2013, and is unlikely to change in April 2014. I think that upgrade alone could be worth a win or more over the course of the season, though of course that heavily depends on how WMB bounces back.
Perhaps just as importantly, Drew gives the Sox great depth on the left side of the infield. With Xander's flexibility, you have 2 guys to play SS, 2 guys to play 3B, and guys who hit both righties and lefties well. Plus you hedge against Middlebrooks not bouncing back. This insurance has real value. Xander/WMB/Herrera/Holt isn't nearly as good of a situation over 162 games. That insurance I think is probably worth at least a few million alone to the 2014 Red Sox, if not more.
Now all that gets balanced against getting a draft pick, giving WMB more time to reestablish himself, seeing how Xander does at SS full-time, and saving some money. Given that, I have no problem letting Drew go and seeing how the season goes. But I think it all depends on how much the FO prioritizes the future over the 2014 season.
If you want to give more weight to 2014, it's not hard at all for me to see how signing Drew for 10M would be a very good and valuable move, even if he only starts 4 times a week (barring injury/WMB underperformance).
I think it looks even better if you can get rid of 10M of Dempster's contract and shift that to Drew in 2014. I would strongly prefer the infield insurance and production vs. right handed pitching over what Dempster would likely provide for this upcoming year. But again, thats only the smart way to go if the foremost concern is the 2014 season, not a few years down the line.