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mlbtraderumors
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Nationals To Sign Stephen Drew
內文：
By Jeff Todd | December 29, 2015 at 8:59pm CST
The Nationals have struck a deal to sign infielder Stephen Drew, according to
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Drew will reportedly receive a
$3MM guarantee and can earn up to $1.25MM via incentives in the contract.
This move rates as something of a surprise, but makes sense upon close
inspection. Washington has already agreed to sign Daniel Murphy, likely to
play second base, and can utilize Anthony Rendon at third. But the shortstop
position remains in some flux. Danny Espinosa looks to sit atop the depth
chart, but he is not an optimal everyday player. Top position player prospect
Trea Turner is also a viable potential option, though it would arguably be
foolish to utilize him in a part-time role.
Drew will presumably get a decent bit of action at shortstop against
right-handed pitching. While Espinosa is a switch hitter, he struggles from
the left side. The left-handed-hitting Drew, on the other hand, has a .765
career OPS against right-handed pitching, while posting a mark precisely one
hundred points lower when facing southpaws. He’ll also likely provide a rest
at times for Rendon and Murphy, or allow the latter to slide in at first base
if the team chooses to rest the oft-injured Ryan Zimmerman against righties
(though Clint Robinson also could see time in that role).
As Heyman notes, then-Diamondbacks scouting director and current Nationals GM
Mike Rizzo selected Drew in the first-round back in 2004, so there’s a
history. At the time, and at times since, there has been hope that Drew would
settle in as a top-quality regular. That hasn’t quite happened, despite
several good seasons, but Drew still brings some skills to the table.
Most notably, Drew delivers plenty of pop for a middle infielder. He swatted
17 home runs last year in just 428 plate appearances and finished with a
strong .180 ISO. Reaching base consistently, though, has been a challenge.
Drew ended 2015 with a .201/.271/.381 batting line.
There were some potential positives to be found — namely, a 16.6% strikeout
rate that was far lower than recent years and a .201 BABIP that could point
to some bad luck. But Drew’s anemic output at the plate over the last two
years has also featured a significant fall-off in his line-drive percentage
(15.7% last year) and hard-hit rate (21.3% in 2015).
Drew doesn’t have to hit all that much to function as a utility option,
though, especially if he’s largely limited to facing right-handed pitching.
He’s spent most of his career at shortstop, drawing mostly positive ratings
in recent seasons. Neither UZR nor DRS has been particularly enamored of his
work at second over the past two years, but at worst he’s been serviceable
there.
From a market perspective, a $3MM guarantee isn’t all that much these days,
even for an extra infielder. Earlier this winter, for example, Cliff
Pennington got $3.75MM over two years from the Angels earlier this winter and
Mike Aviles landed $2MM in a one-year pact with the Tigers. And last year,
the Rockies gave Daniel Descalso a $3.6MM guarantee on a two-year term.
It’s probably worth noting, too, that this move makes it all but official
that Ian Desmond won’t be back in D.C. That was clearly where things were
headed anyway, but there had always seemed to be at least some possibility of
a reunion in the event that Desmond was forced to settle for a pillow
contract. With Drew on the books, though, there wouldn’t be room for the
long-time Nats fixture to come back (barring a trade).
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http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/12/nationals-to-sign-stephen-drew.html
備註：有問題歡迎不吝指教喔!
1. 國民隊以$3MM/1YR附帶$1.25MM的激勵獎金簽下了 Stephen Drew。
2. Stephen Drew除了可以與Rendon跟Murphy共同分擔2B、3B位置之外，當對手為先發右投
時，讓這兩年受傷頻頻的Ryan Zimmerman可以適時休息，一壘的守備工作則由Murphy或是
Clint Robinson來負責。
3. 目前國民的二游陣容有：Daniel Murphy(2B)、Anthony Rendon(3B)、
Danny Espinosa(SS, 2B)、Stephen Drew(SS, 2B)、Trea Turner(2B, 3B)。
4. Stephen Drew預計是對方是右投先發會上場，儘管Danny Espinosa是左右開弓，
但對右投打的很掙扎，至於Stephen Drew生涯對右投的OPS為.765。換句話說，
Stephen Drew可以跟Danny Espinosa來platoon國民隊游擊手的位置。
5. Stephen Drew在2015年球季的表現如下(NYY, 薪水5MM, 明年33歲)：
G H SO BB HR RBI BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
131 77 71 37 17 44 .201 .271 .371 .652 79
6. 其他類似案例合約參考：
(1) 天使以 $3.75MM /2YR 簽下了Cliff Pennington。
(2) 老虎以 $2 MM /1YR 簽下了Mike Aviles。
(3) 落磯以 $3.6 MM /2YR 簽下了Daniel Descalso。
7. 這步更確定了 Ian Desmond 不會回到國民隊。