Could the Sox have made that offer to Drew just to get Boras to work with them a bit on the D-Mat deals? I am not one for conspiracy theories, but it seems as though the Sox may be taking a closer look at the Drew deal now.
Consider this...The Sox outbid everyone for J.D. Drew at $70MM. The strange this is that no one else was bidding. They gave him a contract much longer than they had given others before (including big named Sox players). Of course, Drew is represented by Boras.
Then, there is no announcement as to the signing. Why? Well, according to a report today, the Sox aren't sure that Drew is healthy enough to warrant the contract. His physical turned up something. Boras said the holdup was "language issue(s) in the contract".
Anyway, injury vs. terms of contract are very different. Of course, Boras doesn't want an "injured" Drew back on the market. And maybe this is more because the Sox couldn't move Manny and might feel like they could do without Drew. Would this be a deal-breaker?
Who knows? It is interesting, though, that this is coming about. Drew was healthy last year. What could have happened in the meantime?
What would the Sox do if Drew wasn't their guy? Well, it would give them a lot more money to play around with. But, who else is out there? If Drew is injured, they can't pay him all that money. No way. Not for 5 years. Even that money at 3 years is too risky. This is a franchise, after all, that let future-hall-of-famer Pedro go for fear over a fourth-year breakdown. The same could be said of Damon. I can't see them working too hard to satisfy a contract with Drew if there are injury concerns following a healthy season.
So what is the conspiracy? Well, the Sox had signed Drew before D-Mat, but didn't announce him. They must have known that he had problems with the physical by then. Of course, so would have Boras (I think). But, it could be possible that the Sox didn't kill the Drew deal just to make sure Matsuzaka got done.
My overall take, though, is that Boras came well down on the Matsuzaka price because of the Drew concerns. And now...the language in the contract is restructuring Drew's value as an injured player. Maybe a contract in terms like "if he plays an average of 135 games over the next two years, options for 3 and 4 are triggered...etc..."
Thoughts?
Perhaps Aubrey Huff does enter the fray???
ReplyDeleteYes yes and yes. There are many ways for this story to travel. One thing I know, and I'm SURE you agree. For $70 million John Henry dollars, the Sox have to make absolutely sure that he is healthy. We all know what can happen to all the offensive numbers if a shoulder is not sound. That's what I wrote about today. Stay well, and the happiest of holidays to all the GYSers. As you know, I'm an everyday big fan......of you, not our President. But no need to go into one of my famous rants. Not now. Hm HmHmHm.....can we think CLOSER?...that's a smile waiting to happen.
ReplyDeleteWe’ll see what happens with Drew, but I say there is no way that Boras “comes down” on his price for D-Mat because of the Drew contract. He simply had no leverage. If you read the stuff over the weekend, it further supports the thought they Boras blinked. The Sox were headed back to their plane. It makes for great conspiracies and lord knows we always need them with the Sox, but the Sox made the offer they did to Drew because they have always wanted him. Period. Now, we can all ask how smart that was – and there have been lots of people saying it was not. But the two are not linked. I mean what faster way for Boras to lose credibility with players if he is willing to basically sell one out to get a contract for another one?
ReplyDeleteI think they work it out, more with a "reverse vesting" than incentives - i.e., if he is on the DL with conditions X or Y for more than X days over the first Z years, the Sox can void the last 5-Z years.
Now I do agree with Peter, it is time to find a closer, but I’m not panicking like everyone else. They can try one of the in-house options. Or Lester comes back and Paps moves back out there. Or KC is out of it by may and deals Dotel. Or Tex is out of it by June 20 and deals Gagne. Something will happen. Remember this time last year we had no CF. And the Yanks still don’t have a first baseman.