Via Jon Heyman: The Yankees have interest in free agent shortstop Stephen Drew. Although he has never played a position other than shortstop as a professional, they want to see if he’s open to a supersub role. We know the team is looking for an upgrade over Jayson Nix, specifically someone who can play short and third a combined 100 times next year.
Drew, 29, had his worst full season since his rookie year in 2012, hitting just .223/.309/.348 (79 wRC+) in 327 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks and Athletics. He missed the first three months of the season recovering from the gruesome ankle injury he suffered near the end of last year. The crop of free agent shortstops is very weak, so Drew figures to draw plenty of interest as a starter. Yankee Stadium would probably boost his numbers as a left-handed hitter, but irregular playing time wouldn’t help. I’d be pleasantly surprised if Drew took a one-year, rebuild-your-value contract with New York, but I don’t think it’ll happen.