If you're the type of Red Sox fan who gets agitated thinking about the career paths of Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Johnny Damon and (gulp) Babe Ruth. Here's some good news.
Stephen Drew probably won't be joining that club.
Monday morning, CBS Sports Jon Heyman reported that the New York Yankees had signed free agent shortstop Brendan Ryan to a contract.
In that same report, Heyman mentioned that the Yankees were still interested in signing Drew. The Yankees might be interested, but it seems unlikely that they'd be too fixated with him.
It isn't as if the Yankees shortstop situation is the only hole that the team needs to fix this offseason.
How many shortstops does the team need? Not only that, but how often is veteran Derek Jeter going to be the team's designated hitter?
It isn't unusual for a team to carry three catchers. But three shortstops is something else entirely?
The X-factor here is, of course, Alex Rodriguez.
Just in case you've forgotten, Mr. Rodriguez is facing a suspension, and if his appeal is denied, then A-Rod will be taking an enforced year off in 2014.
If that happens ,then the Yankees would still have a use for Drew. Ryan can play third base and Jeter is not at an age where he can be counted on to play in the field every day.
The real issue is whether or not Drew will still be available as a free agent when the Yankees finally find out whether or not Rodriguez will be playing in 2014.
Unless the Yankees have talked to Drew and offered him some ungodly sum of money to wait around for the Alex Rodriguez appeals process to play out, then it just feels unlikely.
The Yankees really do have a lot more to worry about beyond third base.
As of now, their starting outfield is Brett Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki and Alfonso Soriano.
Their starting rotation is C.C. Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda. Pineda's last major league start was on Sep. 21... 2011.
The Yankees starting catcher is pretty much anyone's guess, and they're also poised to start the 2014 season a new, non-Mariano Rivera closer.
Brendan Ryan is not exactly a long-term shortstop solution for the Yankees, but he's got one of the best gloves in all of baseball, and the team seems content to accept his limited offensive ability in exchange for his exceptional fielding prowess.
As for Drew, he's still one of the better options on the free agent market. He plays a position that is critical to any team seeking success. He's an above average fielder and his bat might be inconsistent, but his presence at the plate is not.
One more thing about Drew. The Red Sox made him a qualifying offer. That offer seems likely to impact Drew's final deal on the open-market. It isn't just that a team has to be willing to spend money on a multi-year deal to secure Drew's services. They're going to have to be willing to part with a draft pick of some significance as well.
The qualifying offer didn't seem to impact the game's highest profile free agents last season.
Josh Hamilton's five-year, $125 million deal with the Angels didn't feel low, or seem impacted by any hesitance on the Angels part to give-up a draft pick.
The same can't be said for the deal Kyle Lohse signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. That deal was for three years and $33 million and it wasn't finalized until March 25, 2013. That's a late date, even for a player with whose agent is Scott Boras.
Stephen Drew might not be back in Boston with the Red Sox in 2014, but the prospects of Drew wearing pinstripes in 2014 also took a hit on Monday.
Where might Drew end up?
Don't count out teams like the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers. All three teams need shortstops, and all three teams could also afford to spend what will be needed to sign him.