Stephen Drew?

Looking around the free agent market, there are still some quality free agents that are still available. Most notable are Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales. Both are clients of mega-agent Scott Boras and declined qualifying offers. They seem to have overestimated their open market value as it's past opening day and they still do not have a team.

Most teams are scared away by their contract demands and the loss of a draft pick because of the qualifying offers. These don't play as big a factor for the Yankees. We're already well above the luxury tax, what's one more big contract going to hurt? The Yankees also signed 3 qualifying offer free agents this offseason (McCann, Ellsbury and Beltran) so we've already given up our natural 1st round pick as well as the compensation picks we got for Granderson and Cano.

As much as it would pain me to give the Red Sox ANOTHER first round pick on top of the one we already gave them for Ellsbury, it wouldn't be so bad since we would only need to surrender a second round pick on our end. A DH/1B like Morales wouldn't make much sense, but a defensive SS like Stephen Drew could work. I feel strongly that Derek Jeter still has something left in the tank and can field the position competently, but I wouldn't mind having a backup plan for this year and a long term plan going forward. The Yankees wouldn't be as intimidated by a longer term deal that Drew would be seeking because they have a distinct need for a quality starting shortstop after this season.

The last word on Drew has been that the Tigers chose to trade for Alex Gonzalez rather than sign Drew. Scott Boras told Peter Gammons that there was a 3-year/$39 Million offer on the table, but this seems far fetched given that Drew only got ~$10 Million from the Red Sox last season on a 1-year deal and he performed near his career averages. Having Jeter would put the Yankees in a unique position to transition Stephen Drew into the role gradually. This would be critical as Drew has not taken part in any spring training activities. It seems like a long shot, but it's interesting food for thought and the Yankees seem as likely a destination as any for Drew at this point.