Baseball's Biggest Bargain

According to "The Rumor Mill" the Red Sox are closing in on a deal to sign free agent RF J.D. Drew. It's being speculated that Drew's price tag is 4 years, $56 million. According to my handy-dandy calculator, that's about $14 million per year. Right now this is all speculation. But it's fun to pretend, so let's say that this deal goes through and assume that the Red Sox sign Drew for $14 million per year. Do you realize that Drew would be making more annually than David Ortiz, the so-called face of the Boston Red Sox? What's wrong with that picture? Oh yeah, Scott Boras. Silly me.
If J.D. Drew signs with Boston and ends up earning more per year than Ortiz, than that would make Ortiz the biggest bargain in baseball. There is no way you can justify that Drew deserves more money that Ortiz. If you look at their 2006 numbers, Drew had a pretty solid campaign, hitting .283, with 20 bombs, 100 RBI, and an OPS of .891. Ortiz had a monster year, hitting .287 with 54 bombs, 137 RBI and an OPS of 1.049. No brainer as to who's worth more.
Despite being born 2 days apart, Ortiz made his MLB debut a year before Drew. Drew hasn't exactly been the picture of health in his career. He's averaged about 107 games played per season over his 9 year career. Ortiz over his 10 year career, has averaged about 104 games played per season, but he didn't really get any significant PT until he signed with Boston in 2003 when he had the first of many pretty big seasons. Over their careers, they have pretty similar numbers. Drew has a slightly higher average and OBP, but Ortiz has much better power numbers. We don't even need to look at recent seasons. Many people think Ortiz should have won the MVP last year, and many think he should win this year. Drew isn't even on the radar when you talk about MVP candidates. If Drew is worth $14 million a year, than the Sox are stealing Ortiz at the $12.5 they are going to pay him. I wonder how that makes Ortiz feel? But alas, it's all speculation, but it's fun to talk about this kind of stuff.
Scott Boras is a genius if he pulls this off. There is no way you can justify Drew's worth at $14 mill when you compare his value to Papi's. That's crazy. Regardless of Ortiz's salary, I think the Sox, or any team really, would be nuts to pay that much money for J.D. Drew. He's not worth that kind of cheddar. But the Sox seem to have deeper pockets all of the sudden. $51.22 mill to sign Matsuzaka. Another $12 million to pay him. Drew possibly at $14 mill. They've abandoned the you're getting $10 million per year MO that they gave to Varitek and Renteria, and tried to give to Damon. I wonder if losing Damon to NY has caused the Red Sox to rethink the way they do things. Some might say that in light of recent events.
The Yankee fan in me doesn't want to see Drew in Boston. A 3-4-5 of Ortiz, Manny, and Drew is a lethal combo. One I wouldn't want to face as an opposing pitcher. But to think the Sox might pay Drew more than they are Ortiz, well, that's just nuckin' futs.
J