From beat reporter Alex Speier of WEEI.com:
Red Sox manager John Farrell, in an interview on WEEI’s Salk & Holley show, said that he believes that the Red Sox would be well served to bring back shortstop Stephen Drew in order to preserve the sort of depth on the left side of the infield that proved so beneficial to the team in 2013.
Drew got a one-year, $14.1 million qualifying offer earlier this week from the Red Sox, but the longtime Scott Boras client is fully expected to decline that offer in search of a multi-year pact.
“Stephen Drew is a very good shortstop,” Farrell told Salk & Holley on Wednesday. “I know there will be people who say what’s the infatuation with him based on the postseason performance. But he’s a darn good shortstop. He had a very strong year for us. He’s a left-handed hitter. Otherwise, we would have an entire right-handed hitting infield, which creates further balance in the lineup going forward,” said Farrell. “I can’t sit here today and say that he’s going to be back here. Personally, I’m hopeful he’s back. It buys us some time, whether [Xander Bogaerts] is the guy going forward next year at shortstop or if he’s at third base.”
That comment leaves a murky future for Will Middlebrooks, who opened the 2013 season as Boston’s starting third baseman but wound up batting just .227 with a .696 OPS in 374 plate appearances.
