Stephen Drew back as bench depth?

(AP Photo)
Eric D. Schabell
Contributing Writer

I am certain you were all waiting on the edge of your seat for the return of Stephen Drew to the Red Sox as their starting shortstop.

No, not so much?

Can't blame you for that, as since his signing the 'rookie-plan' of Jackey Bradley Jr., Brock Holt, and Xander Bogaerts has finally started firing on all cylinders.

Pushing the panic button to pay out on Stephen Drew might have been a suave business move to prevent him walking for free, but he does not represent much of an upgrade beyond defense at shortstop.

Case in point, since the Drew signing the Red Sox have turned around a ten-game losing streak and posted a seven-game winning streak with the rookies featuring prominently both offensively and defensively in every win.

Inserting Drew forcefully into the lineup last night resulted in lack luster performance of 0-2 and a loss.

Is it time to rally around the Twitter hashtag #whoneedsDrew?

Xander Bogaerts had a few errors but was slowly putting together a pretty darn good season at shortstop, with him sitting at 13th in the Majors for WAR (Wins Above Replacement) and 2nd among all shortstops.

The next Red Sox on the WAR list is at 28th, Dustin Pedroia.

So what does manager John Farrell do?

He puts Drew in at shortstop, moves Bogaerts over to third base, and keeps the red hot Brock Holt in the lineup at first base for the ailing Mike Napoli.

When Napoli gets back off the DL, what should Farrell do with Stephen Drew as long as the rookies are performing? In Eric Wilbur's Sports Blog, he asks the $10 million dollar question, "What's the refund policy on Stephen Drew?"

With Holt hammering the ball, performing above and beyond expectations at leadoff, and making the plays needed at the hot corner, Farrell had a call to make.

The call should be to put Stephen Drew where he deserves to be right now, on the bench as shortstop depth. He can sit next to Will Middlebrooks when he returns, who should also be backing up Holt as third base depth. There is no upside to moving around an infield that works, both defensively and offensively for the Red Sox.

Farrell needs to ride this wave as the mantra is don't change a winning team.

Is it time for #whoneedsDrew?

Post a comment or via twitter @ericschabell with your thoughts.

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