Drew, Sox agree to one-year deal
The Boston Red Sox continued to reformat their squad with the acquisition of Stephen Drew on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. The one-year, $9.5 million deal, which would bring another free agent to Boston on short term contract, is pending on Drew passing a physical.
Drew, brother of former Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew, spent last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks before they traded him to the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 20. Drew struggled in Arizona, hitting .193 with two home runs and 12 RBIs, but experienced more success in Oakland as he hit .250 with five homers and 16 RBIs after the scenery change.
Before the trade to Oakland, the 29-year-old Drew had spent his entire career with Arizona. During seven seasons he hit .265 with 77 home runs and 349 RBIs.
Drew will fill the hole at short that was left when the Sox sent Mike Aviles to Toronto as compensation for Boston’s new manager, John Farrell. When Drew makes his first start at short he will serve as the team’s 11th shortstop in nine seasons.
Thus far this offseason, Boston has signed six players to deals that will last three years or fewer. The team agreed to a three-year $39 million contract with outfielder Shane Victorino and Mike Napoli, who plays both first and can catch. The team has also signed three two-year deals with pitcher Ryan Dempster earning $26.5 million, outfielder Johnny Gomes earning $10 million and catcher David Ross earning $6.2 million.
On Tuesday, the Sox also finalized a deal with reliever Koji Uehara. The 37-year-old reliever agreed to the one-year contract two weeks ago at the winter meetings. Uehara had a 1.75 ERA with the Texas Rangers last season, and pitched in Japan for 10 years before he signed with the Baltimore Orioles in 2009.
