Early in this past season for baseball free agents, I noted that J.D. Drew appeared to make a savvy move by opting out of a player option with the Dodgers that would have guaranteed him $33 million over the next three seasons. It appeared that I was right about a month ago when uber-agent, Scott Boras, engineered a $70 million deal for Drew with the Red Sox over five years. Nothing like picking up a cool $37 million by simply opting out of an option.
However, it’s been over 40 days since the announcement of the Drew-Red Sox deal and Drew still has not signed a contract. As this Murray Chass/NY Times article notes, there are rumors that Drew’s recent shoulder injury may have been more serious than the Red Sox thought before examining Drew physically. If so, then it’s highly doubtful that the BoSox will commit anything close to $70 million smackeroos to Drew over five years.
If Drew’s deal with the Red Sox goes awry, I wonder whether Boras will pick up the difference between the $33 million that Drew left on the table from the Dodgers and the possibly lesser amount that a tarnished Drew can draw on the rebound in even a superheated free agent market?