Executives with the New York Mets believe the club is a "long shot" to sign free agent shortstop Stephen Drew, report Mike Puma and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.
Stephen Drew free agency: Mets a ‘long shot’ for shortstop
Who really knows where Drew is going to end up? The Mets sure are mentioned an awful lot, though.
Rob Carr
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Though it was reported Tuesday that the Mets had extended an offer to Drew, a team official has refuted those claims. At the very least, New York is certainly still keeping an eye on the shortstop and appears to be willing to sign him if the terms of the deal make sense for the club.
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Drew has been sitting much of the offseason with no apparent strong offers. Part of the reason for that is the fact any team that signs him would be required to forfeit a top draft pick. Drew turned down a qualifying offer from the Red Sox following the 2013 season.
Of course, for the Mets the draft pick compensation may not come into play quite so heavily as it would with other teams. The club’s first round pick is protected by virtue of being in the top-10 selections and they already forfeited their second rounder in order to sign Curtis Granderson. Thus, signing Drew would necessitate the loss of just a third round pick.
The Mets could wait to improve at shortstop next offseason with potential free agents like Asdrubal Cabrera, J.J. Hardy, Jed Lowrie and Hanley Ramirez. Of course, all those players will likely receive a qualifying offer. The Mets may be better served by giving up a lower draft pick now rather than a first-rounder next year.
Though Ruben Tejada is still just 24 years old, the Mets seem to have fallen out of love with him as their shortstop of the future. If that is the case, it would be hard to blame the team: Tejada hit just .202/.259/.260 over 57 games last season and has yet to break a 700 OPS over parts of four years.
Drew, 30, signed a one year deal with the Red Sox last year in an effort to re-establish his value after missing much of the 2011-12 seasons due to a broken ankle. He hit .253/.333/.443 with 13 home runs in Boston, helping the team to a World Series title.
The Red Sox have reportedly made an offer to Drew to return, but with Xander Bogaerts ready to take over at shortstop the club is unlikely to overspend on Drew. In addition to the Red Sox and Mets, the Yankees, Twins and Athletics have all shown at least some modicum of interest.
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