Stephen Drew Returning To Red Sox

Gordon Edes, ESPNBoston:

The Boston Red Sox have agreed with shortstop Stephen Drew for the remainder of the 2014 season, pending a physical, two baseball sources confirmed.

He will make about $10 million, which is the prorated portion of the $14.1 million he would have received if he had accepted Boston's qualifying offer in the offseason, a source told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.

Drew will be arriving in Boston later Tuesday.

David Schoenfield, ESPNBoston:

Once he gets his reps in (he'll probably play 7-10 games in the minors), Drew will play shortstop with rookie Xander Bogaerts moving to third base. ...

So it's a safe signing for Boston. Bogaerts was inconsistent on defense at shortstop, but this move doesn't permanently move him to third base. He can always move back to shortstop next year and should still be viewed as the long-term answer at shortstop.

But Drew doesn't fix the Red Sox. They need their outfielders to start hitting. They need Clay Buchholz to figure it out and Jake Peavy to pitch better. It's a reminder of how much went exactly right for Boston last year, when veterans played at the top of their abilities and stayed healthy.