Report: Mets Offered Stephen Drew $9.5 Million
You may have noticed that I have not gotten caught up in the daily Stephen Drew updates. I refuse to get sucked in and write about something that just will not happen. Why waste my time and yours? Well, I’m bending this rule for one interesting note — that the Mets made an offer that was destined to fail.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Mets “suggested” a salary of $9.5 million for Drew, likely for just one year. This is around what Drew made last season and Heyman termed the offer “an unusual no-raise try that had little chance in free agency.”
Classic Sandy Alderson. Make an offer that cannot be accepted, but at least he can say he tried. If the Mets really want Drew, they should actually try to sign him. If they don’t want him, why bother with the lame offer?
Then again, Nelson Cruz is reportedly getting ready to sign with the Orioles for $8.5 million, a huge comedown from his asking price and a lot less than the $14 million qualifying offer he (and Drew) turned down. So maybe Drew will get desperate and sign a similar deal.
This Cruz deal raises the question — should the Mets have waited to sign him instead of Chris Young for about the same money? I prefer to take my chances with Young. He is much younger (30 to Cruz’s 33), plus he is not coming off of a PED suspension. Who knows what Cruz can do at his age and without the PEDs?
In any case, it would be shocking if Stephen Drew is wearing the blue and orange in 2014. Instead, we will see if that conditioning program has really changed Ruben Tejada.
The answer to why Andersen offered $9.5 is clear: that’s what he thought Drew was worth. No more, if not less. I don’t think $9.5 is so lame for a player with those numbers, in the context of having someone else who can play the position, if not drive in some runs.
i really don’t care about stephen drew, he’s not worth 9.5 mil and i think it’d be a mistake to waste that much money on him. he’s a marginal improvement for around 10x the cost.
with regards to cruz/young, i don’t think the mets should have signed either of them honestly. Young has too much to prove for 7.5 and cruz is basically in the same boat, but with a lower ceiling and higher floor.