J.D. Drew Fails Physical

[BoSox34]

Baseball Prospectus colleague, Will Carroll is reporting on BP Unfiltered that JD Drew has failed his physical with the Red Sox. Carroll's sources indicate that this issue is Drew's shoulder:

Drew took the physical shortly after the announcement of the deal in Orlando, but sources have told me that Drew showed problems in his shoulder that “could shut down his power.” Drew had minor surgery on his shoulder after the 2005 season, so it’s possible that there’s more damage in there.

http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.p...=535&Itemid=42

Wow, if this is true it certainly comes as shocking news being that it seemed that Drew coming to Boston was nearly a sure deal with all that was needed was a signature.

[BoSox34]

Here's another source regarding this issue.

http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSo...ticleid=172329

[nyjunc]

That sucks.

[missionhockey21]

I didn't check the second link, so my apologies if this was covered but I heard the Red Sox still supposedly want to go through with this contract, but just to restructure it to give Drew more incentives and less of a base salary. If Drew was as injured as this would lead you to believe, I can't imagine he would of opted out of his contract in the first place. Wouldn't he or Boras have him go through a physical first to ensure that there wasn't any serious problems as he did have a contract with the Dodgers with pretty sweet money.

[GiantsFanatic]

I got a stupid question? Is taking a physical in the proffesional sports different then in HS? Because when I played sports in HS, all the DR did was grabbed my nuts and told me to caugh, and also grabbed this generic hammer and knocked on my elbows and knees.

By the way this does suck for the Redsox.

[DravenX]

Oh I'm sure it's a little different. I bet they check every little thing in your body to make sure they got a healthy player.

[BoSox34]

I also believe that the Red Sox will still sign Drew but will enter a few different clauses to protect themselves. This sheds light on why the deal hadn't been signed for so long after the agreement was announced, Boras was trying to play this off so that it didn't reach the main stream media.

[BoSox34]

ESPN is also reporting this:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2700531

[Dr.Funk]

J.D. Drew's five-year, $70 million contract with the Red Sox will be finalized and announced on Friday.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...w_contrac.html

[Molina00]

I know Drew is a dangerous hitter when healthy, but when is this guy ever healthy? He has only topped 500 AB's in a season once, that being in his lone season in Atlanta in '04 I believe. I can't believe any team would sign him to a 5 year contract with his health history. At least the Sox were smart enough to have his health issues incorporated into his contract. Looks like a great deal for Drew either way.

[Fishercat]

I have mixed feelings about this.

He is a better option than Trot Nixon. However, he's not 12 million dollars better.

Assuming he can keep his production at a level that he has in the past, IF the Sox can get 500-550 PAs out of him per year, it's worth it. The Sox need a fielder if they're running WMP and Manny out there daily (Coco makes up some of that), and JD is that. Plus, he can rake.

I don't like the money, but it's a solid signing. Lugo reeks of E-Rent.