Yankees Offseason Issues: NO DREW!

We are two full days out of the 2014 season. Derek Jeter has been officially retired for a little more than 48 hours. The talk about the next Yankees short stop is under way. Even when the guy walks away from the game, he causes a media circus.

Before we even delve into the possibilities, I want to set the record straight. The proper question to be asked is, “Who will be the next Yankees short stop?” I don’t want to hear anymore of this, “Who will replace Derek Jeter?” That answer is simple, because it is nobody. Much like David Robertson stepped in this season and did an admirable job as the next Yankees closer, he did not replace Mariano Rivera. Jeter and Rivera brought a lot more than numbers to the clubhouse. Those intangibles will never be replaced, especially by what the free agent market has out there for 2015. Remember, in Jeter and Rivera’s first full season, they brought home a championship.

Aug 1, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Stephen Drew (33) throws to first base as Boston Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli (12) slides during the eighth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

George A. King of the New York Post explored the option of bringing back Stephen Drew next season as the heir apparent to The Captain. King discusses how Drew’s 2014 season may hurt him in the long run because it was a down season for him. It was also a bizarre offseason for Drew as he couldn’t find any suitors and remained unsigned until June 2nd. What does that say about Drew’s ability?

Drew’s agent and player marketing monster, Scott Boras, begs teams to not look at this season. “I would say clubs would spend a good deal of time focusing on his career offensive statistics as opposed to a couple of hundred at-bats. Defensively, he is still elite and a lot of teams will have interest in him as a shortstop.’’ The Yankees already have an “elite fielding” short stop on the roster in Brendan Ryan and look how wonderfully that panned out in his first full season in the Bronx.

Stephen Drew is really nothing close to elite. The problem lies in that he remained unsigned last season because Boras was looking for his usual long-term big money deal and no team wanted to risk that on an injury-prone Drew. While Boras admits it will be hard pressed to find Drew a long-term deal heading into 2015, it will still be a costly one (he played half this season for ten million).

Defensively Drew has a career .979 fielding percentage. His career range factor per game in 4.0. That is good, but not elite. Elite would mean that in at least one of his nine seasons he would have led short stops in fielding percentage or range factor. He has not. You know who has over those nine years? Brendan Ryan.

Nor is Drew an offensive threat by any means. He would most likely bat in the bottom third of the Yankees’ lineup. He is a career .256 hitter with a measly career .322 on base percentage. He doesn’t steal bases like most short stops do and he strikes out a ton. Drew hasn’t played anywhere near a full season since 2010, and that year, he still missed ten games from injury.

If you would like me to continue on why Drew is also a terrible fit for the Bombers, let me tell you this. He is terrible in the post season. Last year alone he hit .133 in the ALDS, .050 in the ALCS, and .158 in the World Series. And that was starting and playing in every game of every one of those series. We already have a guy that good in the post season and he was reinstated officially yesterday. Do Yankees’ fans need another A-Rod?

Sure, the choices at shortstop next year are thin. J.J. Hardy is nothing more than serviceable and the Dodgers have been converting Hanley Ramirez to a third baseman over the course of two seasons now. Stephen Drew is respectable, but elite he is not. The price the Yankees would have to pay for him simply doesn’t make it seem like the right move for a team looking to improve on a dismal 2014.