Red Sox sign Stephen Drew

[bagwell368]

damn I'm surprised he got $9.5 M. I figured he would be closer to $5 M per season, and/or something at least based on incentives for more. $9.5 M guaranteed is awfully high for what he has done recently.
he hasn't been that good since 2010.

I had wondered if the Red Sox would be interested in someone else, like Alex Gonzalez. he missed most of 2012 with an injury. could have been had for like half of what Drew got. could have been Gonzalez' 3rd time with Boston.

They looked at Gonzalez as an invitee, but obviously didn''t like what they saw.

[SenorGato]

I'm actually a fan of this team of former stars stop gap thing the Red Sox are doing. Not a big fan of 3 for Victorino but he's a solid a player with a wide skill set. Gives some time for their prospects to marinate, gives Pedroia and Ellsbury some help for a year, and if the pitchers can bounce back then they can make some noise.

[bagwell368]

seriosuly. they seem like a team of stop gaps now

Wisely. They have no shot in '13 and '14. So they are retooling to be a .500 team to keep the fans from going beserk. They haven't dealt a spec this off season, and the longest deal they've signed with a FA is 3 years.

When they fall out of it in '13 and/or '14 they'll have a number of interesting players to trade for kids at the deadline or via waivers. Lester, Buchholz, Ellsbury, all the guys they've signed, and any farm guys with no legs. Depends on the needs of the teams looking (extra WC means a lot more buyers compared to before), what they'll pay, and what the Sox have ready to move into that slot.

I'd be shocked if there are more than 4 guys on the roster opening day 2016 compared to opening day 2013.

[310Casper]

its gonna be weird to see the blue jays a much better team than the yankees/red sox this season

[hugepatsfan]

I thought Victorino was a terrible signing but other than that I think they've made some decent moves.

Dempster for 2 years should be solid. If Lester and Clay B. get back to being a 1 and 2, I think Dempster can be a "good enough" 3 to compete for a playoff spot. Doubront seems like he can be a 4th starter (maybe even 3rd) and Lackey can be an innings eating 5 if healthy (although at a pretty steep price).

Napoli might have gotten 1 year too many and I don't know what it means for Lavernway, but he's a solid hitter. Probably should be 6 or 7 in a championship lineup, but BOS is just looking to compete for a wild card spot while they rebuild so fans don't throw fits.

Drew on a 1 year deal is a pretty good stop gap. A lot of money, but it's only that. They can afford it.

[Superdude]

Hopefully with these signings it'll give the Sox some time to let the prospects develop, and maybe make a little noise. I think we overpaid a lot this offseason...but as the Dodgers say...if you have money to burn!

[Yankees90.]

Meh, for the amount of money Boston shed earlier on, I don't think this is bad at all. For the Red Sox, this is low-risk high-reward. Only for one year.

[Celtic AL]

To clear this up Who cares if they overpaid drew? It's a one year deal not a multi-year deal

[SACNYY]

How did he get 9.5 million? He sucks lol. Good ole Sox

[SACNYY]

its gonna be weird to see the blue jays a much better team than the yankees/red sox this season

Just like the Marlins were going to better than everyone in the NL East last season too?

[Celtic AL]

How did he get 9.5 million? He sucks lol. Good ole Sox

[Cheezombie]

Well this sucks.

[Vampirate]

Just like the Marlins were going to better than everyone in the NL East last season too?

Last season has played out, this season hasn't.

Also while I don't know if the Jays will perform to expectations, their cieling is much higher than the Marlins last year.

As for the signing? Meh, the one thing though is, i'd rather suck than be mediocre if my team has no shot next year. it would mean a better draft pick.

[nirvana235]

Just like the Marlins were going to better than everyone in the NL East last season too?

I don't think people who truly analyzed their roster picked them over the Phillies, Braves, or even the Nationals at that time.

[mtf]

Just like the Marlins were going to better than everyone in the NL East last season too?

No reasonable person was predicting that the Marlins had improved so much that they were going to surpass the Phillies who were coming off a 102 win season.

Perhaps if you want a comparable, try the Red Sox in 2011. That was a team people had ridiculously high justifiable expectations for.