Drew, Red Sox finalize contract
Nine days after shortstop Stephen Drew and the Boston Red Sox agreed to a one-year, $9.5 million deal, the contract was finalized Wednesday.
Drew, 29, split last season between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Oakland Athletics. He became a free agent when the A's rejected a $10 million mutual option on his contract in October. Instead, Drew received a $1.35 million buyout.
Drew missed the first three months of last season while recovering from a fractured ankle he sustained on slide at home plate in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers in July 2011. He returned to hit .193 in 40 games with Arizona this year, then .250 in 39 games with Oakland after an August trade.
In Boston, Drew takes over a shortstop position vacated when the Red Sox dealt Mike Aviles to the Blue Jays in the deal that brought manager John Farrell to Boston. Light-hitting prospect Jose Iglesias was the Red Sox's other shortstop option.
Drew will wear uniform No. 7, the same number his older brother, J.D., wore while playing for Boston from 2007-11.
