The Bronx is Boiling: Drew Part Deux

The New York Yankees have quietly had a busy off-season. They didn’t break the bank to bring in big name, flashy stars, but they have made a few big trades and some under the radar signings. They made another signing, and it was one that ruffled a few feathers. The Bronx is boiling and I need to blow some steam.

DREW PART DEUX

I simply don’t understand the desire in signing Stephen Drew. It seems like the Yankees were so gung ho on it. It wasn’t like this was a Kelly Johnson or Brian Roberts signing who signed for $5 million combined. Drew commanded a $5-million deal himself, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why.

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Seriously, Drew had one good season as a MLB player and that was seven years ago. That season he set nearly all of his career highs across the board. Drew slashed .291/.333/.502 while belting 21 home runs and driving in 67 Diamondbacks in finishing 26th in the MVP voting. In the seven years since, he hasn’t hit above .278. His strikeout rate has increased and he is by no means an on-base machine.

It’s not really the stats that get me riled up, however. It’s his fragility and the fact that entering his age-32 season, I don’t understand how it is going to get better. The last time Drew played over 125 games in the season it was 2010. He has eclipsed the 100-game mark just once. Durability has been a tremendous issue for the Yankees the past few seasons, and signing on an injury-prone second baseman seems like Brian Roberts all over again. Except Roberts cost a mere $2 million.

Then there is the position change. Why are the Yankees so intent on paying a 32-year old to learn a new position? Stephen Drew has played a whopping 34 games at second base over his 1021-game career. I guess they do believe that you can teach an old dog new tricks. The problem is that the Yankees actually have not one, but two prospects that would come cheaper and are worth taking the gamble on.

Unlike most Yankees fans that want Rob Refsnyder to take the reigns in 2015 as the everyday second baseman, I completely understand the Yankees hesitation. Refsnyder had a monster 2014 season, one in which he slashed .318/.387/.497, while hitting 14 home runs and driving in 63 batters over two levels. Refsnyder was drafted as a right fielder and 2014 was only his second full season at second base. Keeping Refsnyder, who will be 24 by Opening Day, in Triple-A to start the season to sharpen up his play in the middle of the infield is the right move. Bringing him up by mid-season if he is excelling and meeting the lofty standards he set last season is also a logical move.

That’s why the Yankees should have passed on Drew and his $5-million contract. The Yankees are set up perfectly to move forward at second base and instead they have seemingly moved backwards. I have written at length on Jose Pirela and why he needs to be in pinstripes. I am not going to talk about his stats or the monster season he had last year at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre or the fact that he got the rally-starting hit in Derek Jeter’s final inning at the Stadium.

What needs to be known about Pirela is that he has been a second baseman his entire career. When Refsnyder was promoted to SWB midseason, Pirela learned new positions to make room for Ref at second base. That’s why the Yankees should give the 25-year old a chance. Start Pirela at second base for the beginning of the season. When Refsnyder is ready, probably shortly after the All Star Break, the Yanks bring him up, insert him at second and Pirela becomes a role-player off the bench that has played all three outfield positions, first base and, obviously, second. That is a total win-win situation. Should Refsnyder prove ready at second base in their current situation, they have to cut Drew and eat that money. Which move makes more sense?

I don’t hate Stephen Drew. I think he could be a good fit. That fit doesn’t seem logical with the Yankees, and that is my problem. This seems like yet another of the new Steinbrenner’s moves that brings once promising stars in on over-priced contracts in hopes of them reaching numbers they put up a long time ago. It hasn’t worked yet (Vernon Wells, Johnson, Roberts, Lyle Overbay, Carlos Beltran… well, you get the point). Why would it start working now?

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