As each day passes, Ruben Tejada becomes more and more likely to be the man at shortstop come Opening Day.
Sandy Alderson finally put the kibosh on the idea of the Mets signing Stephen Drew earlier this week, calling the potential move ‘unlikely’.
Reports indicated a willingness by New York to negotiate a one-year deal with Drew, but had little interest in any greater of a commitment.
Despite being somewhat of an unappealing option, one year of Tejada could be well worth it if it means the Mets go out and spend on one of the many shortstops that will potentially be available come next winter.
Obviously a lot can happen in a year, plenty of extensions can and likely will be reached between now and October. When you throw names such as Hanley Ramirez, Asdrubal Cabrera, J.J. Hardy, and Jed Lowrie into the mix, however, locking up Drew to multiple years becomes a less attractive option.
This is also the same reason why Scott Boras wants to lock up his client to at least a two-year deal, otherwise the demand for Drew could be even less than this offseason due to the greater supply.
In terms of career WAR, Drew ranks fourth, only above Lowrie, who has two fewer seasons than the 30-year old under his belt. Lowrie however, had the highest OPS out of any of the group not named Ramirez, who posted a 1.040 OPS in just 86 games last season.
The Mets have shown interest in Lowrie this past winter, so they may be interested in pursuing him for their true playoff push in 2015 rather than committing to Drew.
Personally, if the Mets feel that one of the free agent shortstops next winter are more valuable than Drew, then it could be worth the risk to better their chances beyond 2014.
In this case, it may behoove the Mets to go for the two birds in the bush rather than the one in the hand.
