Drew is not expected to be in Boston for today's announcement.
Under the terms of the contract, if Drew goes on the disabled list in his third year for issues related to the shoulder for a proscribed length of time, the Sox have the option to void the final two years. If he winds up on the disabled list in his fourth year, the Sox have the option of voiding the final year.
The out clause is similar to those in contracts negotiated in recent years by the Detroit Tigers with Boras for catcher Ivan Rodriguez and outfielder Magglio Ordonez. The Tigers could have opted out of Ordonez's five-year, $75 million contract after just one year if Ordonez had spent 25 or more days on the DL because of a preexisting knee condition. With Rodriguez, who had back problems, the Tigers could have voided the last two years of his four-year, $40 million contract if he spent a total of 35 days on the DL in 2004 and '05 with back problems.
Both players stayed healthy, fully guaranteeing their contracts, and the Tigers won the American League pennant last season, with Rodriguez and Ordonez playing key roles.
The exact number of days Drew must be on the DL is probably closer to Rodriguez's than Ordonez's. If Drew's shoulder were to act up in the first two years of the contract, the Sox would have no relief, which apparently was of less concern to the club than the possibility of problems down the road.
Red Sox doctors, in examining Drew and his medical records, detected potential indicators of future shoulder problems. Drew underwent surgery in September 2005, when he was with the Dodgers, to repair a tear in his labrum, and had some holes drilled in his shoulder blade to facilitate cartilage growth. He reported shoulder weakness last season while with the Dodgers, and acknowledged it might have contributed to a midseason decline in his power. He went 43 games without a home run from June 2 to July 27, a period during which the Dodgers went 16-32 and nearly fell out of the race in the NL West.
