[BA]Stephen Drew Signs Indy League Contract
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/news/050420drew.html
Stephen Drew Signs Indy League Contract
By Allan Simpson
April 20, 2005
Shortstop Stephen Drew, the unsigned first-round draft pick of the
Arizona Diamondbacks, signed a contract today to play with the Camden
Riversharks of the independent Atlantic League. His signing will be
announced at a 3 p.m. press conference in Camden, N.J.
Drew will begin scrimmaging with the Riversharks on Friday and will
be in the lineup at shortstop when Camden opens its 2005 season at
home against Nashua on April 28.
“It’s an opportunity for him to get a uniform on and play some
baseball,” said Bob Brower, a representative for the Scott Boras
Corporation, Drew’s agent.
Drew hasn’t played organized baseball of any kind since Florida
State, where he starred for three years, was eliminated from NCAA
tournament play last June. He was projected to be one of the top
selections in the 2004 draft but slid to the Diamondbacks with the
15th pick overall when teams became concerned about his bonus demands.
According to the Boras camp, they had an understanding on the
economics of what it would take to sign Drew with former Diamondbacks
managing general partner Jerry Colangelo. The amount was similar to
the contract Mark Teixeira signed with the Rangers in 2001.
Teixeira^(1)s contract was for a guaranteed $9.5 million, with a $4.5
million signing bonus.
Shortly after the draft, Colangelo was later relieved of his
duties--in part because of his willingness to pay Drew a bonus that
was substantially above the parameters for first-round picks
established by Major League Baseball, and the amount other owners in
the D-backs hierarchy had expected to pay.
Negotiations stalled as representatives for the Diamondbacks
countered with offers more in line with the contract Rickie Weeks
signed as the No. 2 overall pick in 2003. Weeks was given a major
league contract by the Brewers that guaranteed him $4.79 million,
including a signing bonus of $3.6 million. However, one industry
source said Arizona’s offer would make Drew’s deal the richest in
the ’04 draft class, surpassing “by a significant margin” the $5.2
million guarantee and $3.2 million bonus the Devil Rays gave Rice
righthander Jeff Niemann.
The Diamondbacks met with Drew and his representatives as recently as
April 13 and made headway on a deal but still could not reach an
agreement.
“We’re still not on the same page,” Brower said. “We came off the
Teixeira number and worked towards finding a middle ground. We couldn’t,
but we’ve left the door open. No bridges were burned.
“In the meantime, Stephen has a forum to keep playing.”
The Diamondbacks have until June 1, the beginning of the closed
period, to sign Drew or he would go back into this year’s draft.
Scouting director Mike Rizzo said Brower’s characterization of
negotiations was fair in terms of the amicable nature of talks, and
said the news shouldn’t affect his organization’s chances of
signing Drew.
“We’re still trying to find a vehicle to get the deal done,” he
said. “Stephen hasn’t played since last May, so it’s probably a
good idea for him to get out and play. It’s important for him to get
out and compete and face live pitching, just to knock off some of the
rust. But the tools and the ability is still going to be there.”
Drew is following a similar career path as his older brother J.D.,
now an outfielder with the Dodgers. The elder Drew also played three
years at Florida State before being selected by the Phillies with the
second overall pick in the 1997 draft. When negotiations bogged down,
Drew elected to play in the independent Northern League and went back
into the 1998 draft. He was redrafted by the Cardinals with the fifth
overall pick that year and given a bonus substantially larger than
the best offer the Phillies made.
That’s the biggest difference in the two Drew holdouts. Negotiations
with Stephen Drew and the Diamondbacks have remained amicable, Rizzo
said. “And the dollars are a lot different,” he added.
Contributing: John Manuel.
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