Stephen Drew May Owe JJ Hardy a Thank You Card

When the news broke that JJ Hardy signed a three year extension with the Baltimore Orioles making him the highest paid shortstop in all of baseball my initial reaction, well after the four letter word came out, was that Stephen Drew and Hanley Ramirez just got expensive. Drew may end up owing Hardy a thank you card before it’s all said and done because this extension may have sealed the deal for Drew and the Yankees in 2015.

The Yankees need someone to replace Derek Jeter and Hardy was considered to be the best offensive option on the board. Many around the league do not consider Ramirez to be a legitimate option at shortstop going forward leaving a very weak shortstop class that may now be headlined by Drew. The Yankees also don’t have much in the way of shortstop and major league ready prospects that could fill the hole making Drew look more and more attractive as the offseason drags on.

New York could always plug Martin Prado at shortstop and let Robert Refsnyder have second base or the team could live with Hanley’s less than stellar defense until they could move him to third base to replace Alex Rodriguez. It seems more and more likely that the Yankees fans will have one more season of Stephen Drew in pinstripes, and we can all thank JJ Hardy.