22 December 2004

JD Drew is a Dodger according to ESPN.com. His stellar 2004 performance for the Braves helped earn him $55 million contract to play in Los Angeles for the next five years ($11M per). He reportedly turned down a deal that would have payed $25 million over three years to stay in Atlanta ($8.33M per). I didn't think Drew would be signed for that much for that long; his health is too much of a liability. I figured a reasonable contract would be $7-9M/yr for two years or $6-7M/yr for four or five years. But $11M/yr for five years for someone who played in his career high in games and didn't even break 150? I loved JD Drew in Atlanta and I wanted him to stay, but I think the Dodgers just made a mistake. The Braves still have only one starting outfielder, Andruw Jones. No replacements for Charles Thomas and Eli Marrero have yet been acquired or promoted.