^^^ thanx rick, and that's exactly where I got my career stats from, and like I said, I like Drew too. Hell, both he and his Brother played their high school ball just south of here. But all things considered, and as you also pointed out, Lowrie will likely not cost nearly as much...plus, I like the fact that he's a switch hitter.
Well, the way I see it, (if both were even agreeable to come to the Yankees) and as it was pointed out, offensive numbers are comprable to each other, but you'll be paying just over 7.1M less (based on the above 2013 numbers) for someone who is defensively inferior to the other... it'll come down to do the yankees want a defensive liability & be more realistic in meeting the "goal" of being under $189M or pay a little more for someone who is defensively better and be further from reality in meeting that "goal" of $189M... $7.1M savings is tempting... I don't know what the brass will do on this though as they have been somewhat unpredictable...
...if SS was the only hole that needs to be filled it would be a different story...but another $7 Mil or so can be used in other areas. As fle ar as Lowrie being defensively inferior, the difference is negligible and IMO, certainly does not warrant an extra $7 mil for that facet of the game alone. ...I also see Lowrie as the more versatile player. In addition to playing SS, he's spent time at 3B, 2B, and 1B...which could be important considering the uncertainty surrounding ARod, Jeter, and Cano, and Tex. Drew has never played any position but SS. And if you sign Drew, what do you do with him next year if Jeter returns healthy and plays well? I certainly would not lock up the DH spot with Jeter every game. ...will the Yanx sign either Drew or Lowrie?...I don't know, but I'd say the odds are probably less than 50% on both players.
I don't agree that the difference defensively is negligible, but I'll move on... Assuming they get Lowrie, what contract would you see happening? years/$ etc. If it were Drew, same question... Who else is worthy of being looked at? According to http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/02/2014-mlb-free-agents.html there list is: Clint Barmes (35) Willie Bloomquist (36) Jamey Carroll (40) Alexi Casilla (29) Stephen Drew (31) Yunel Escobar (31) - $5MM club option Rafael Furcal (36) Alex Gonzalez (36) Cesar Izturis (34) Derek Jeter (40) - $8MM+ player option with a $3MM buyout John McDonald (39) Jhonny Peralta (32) Brendan Ryan (32)
...but the difference in defense is negligible...not sure why you picked errors as a barometer for judging defense but I'll go with it....you're talking about the difference in 8 errors, and of those 8 errors how many do you suppose resulted in unearned runs?...and of those 8 errors how many do you suppose resulted in costing the team a game? Most errors are not catastrophic. ...if you want to gauge overall defense, Drew's career defensive WAR is 4.8....Lowry's is 4.6, so yes, it is in fact "negligible". ...but I do agree that there's not much out there as far as SSs go...which is why both Boston and Oakland will likely keep both Drew and Lowrie because they would be hard to replace if either were to leave.
For late inning defense I'd keep Ryan but 3-400 ABs, no f'king way. I don't know what he'd give you without the roids but maybe someone like Peralta might be worth a look. He's a FA, earned only 6M last season & would cover 2 needs SS & 3rd base.
...that's what scares me...if Jeter can play 120-130 at SS and hit .270 or better, I'd be tickled to death...if he can't, the Yanx will have a huge offensive void at SS with Ryan...and I always liked Peralta.
