Free agent shortstop Stephen Drew and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury won the 2013 World Series with the Boston Red Sox, but according to his agent Scott Boras it may have been the last thing that Drew does in a Boston uniform as he reportedly is highly coveted and has "a very large market" outside of Boston.
According to ESPN, Drew, whose brother J.D. Drew won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2007, likely won't return to the Red Sox in 2014 because there are a number of teams willing to make him multiyear offers beyond anything he'd receive by staying in Boston.
"Obviously, if you want to win, and you want a middle-of-the-diamond player -- and a lot of really, really good teams need upgrades in the middle of the diamond -- he's got a very active, very large market," Boras said of Drew, according to ESPN.
Boras noted that he's spoken with Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington about Drew and Ellsbury, but the market is deep for both men so there's no guarantee of either of them staying in Boston.
Drew turned down the one-year $14.1 million qualifying offer that Boston gave to him after his one-year $9.5 million contract with the team expired, and now if Drew signs elsewhere the Red Sox will be guaranteed a first-round pick unless the team that signs Drew owns the first 11 picks in the upcoming draft; in that case the team will get a compensatory pick in next year's first-year player draft.
Drew has opted to test out a relatively thin shortstop free agent market as he and Detroit Tigers' shortstop Jhonny Peralta each headline the thin market. Drew hit .253 with 13 homers and 67 RBIs in the regular season, but in the postseason he only had six hits in 54 at-bats for a .111 average, while maintaining his great defense.
If Drew signs elsewhere and the Red Sox don't bring a replacement in through outside teams, ESPN reports that Cherington is prepared to start Xander Bogaerts at short and Will Middlebrooks at third base.
Ellsbury, who hit .298 with nine homers and 53 RBIs in 2013, is likely to get a big contract like his teammate Carl Crawford received, but Boras said each case is different.
"For any elite player, the number of premium players at that level who get to free agency now are rare," Boras said per ESPN about Ellsbury's impending new contract. "Teams recognize that. I think they view those players as difference-makers and getting players that are top-five offense, top-five defense at their positions, and they're young, are a real opportunity for a franchise."
It remains to be seen where Drew and Ellsbury will land, but if the interest that Boras spoke about is factual from many different teams, it's safe to assume that he'll don a new uniform in 2013.
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