Red Sox Rumors: Scott Podsednik and J.D. Drew

Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington told reporters Monday that he doesn’t expect to add a player to replace injured outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford.  Still, rumors continue to swirl around the Red Sox as they struggle on and off the field.  Yesterday Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted that the Red Sox have scouted Phillies minor league outfielder Scott Podsednik.  While Podsednik could potentially be an option for the Red Sox, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reported that Boston has not been in touch with veteran outfielder J.D. Drew.

Since Ellsbury’s shoulder injury and trip to the disabled list were announced, speculation has risen as to how the Red Sox will go about replacing their young center fielder.  Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times and others said that perhaps the Red Sox would pursue an established veteran such as Cubs center fielder Marlon Byrd.  Others have said that the Red Sox are more likely to go with a “lesser move” if they do anything at all.

Podsednik would qualify as a lesser move, and he was one of the players Rosenthal told readers to keep an eye on when Boston was first rumored to be actively shopping the market.

J.D. Drew, on the other hand, does not appear to be on the Red Sox radar.  Bradford tweeted that the Red Sox did not inquire about Drew’s availability following Ellsbury’s injury.  The 36-year-old basically announced his retirement this offseason, though nothing has been made official.

Drew spent the last five seasons with the Red Sox, and his numbers, especially recently, don’t figure to have fans beckoning him out of retirement.  Though he did post OPS’s of .927 and .914 in 2008-09, Drew only mustered a line of .222/.315/.302 last season over his 81 games and 248 at-bats with the Red Sox.

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