Chants of "Drewwwwww" echo through Chase Field every time Stephen Drew came up to bat for the Arizona Diamondbacks will be heard no more.
On Monday night, the D-backs dealt Drew to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for minor league shortstop, Sean Jamieson. The move came after a crushing blow handed to them by the Miami Marlins and needless to say, losing Drew only made the pain worse.
But in my eyes, despite Drew being a fan favorite in Phoenix, the move was mutually beneficial.
Drew, after being drafted in the first round of the 2004 MLB draft, had been a lifelong Diamondback prior to last night's unforeseen trade. When he was called up in 2006, he quickly gained a reputation for being a smart, hard nosed shortstop that could play defense with the best of them.
So to see him go hurts a little bit, but it seemed like it was time. Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers acknowledged that the team tried to trade Drew at the deadline, but nothing materialized at that time. Once a prospect that Towers liked fell into place, the team placed him on waivers and two days later, the trade was made.
Drew was struggling this season after coming back from an ankle injury. He says his struggles had nothing to do with the injury and that he was just missing holes, but his .193 batting average in 2012 says otherwise. A change of scenery and being reunited with former manager Bob Melvin should do him some good.
Sean Jamieson, according to Kevin Towers, is just the type of prospect the team has been looking for to help bulk up their farm system. In 2012, he is hitting .234 with a .379 slugging percentage, according to Baseball Reference. Towers noted that Jamieson has both speed and good hitting power for his position, but that he is a long ways from being called up to the major leagues.
So, yes, we will miss Stephen Drew. He has been in a Diamondbacks uniform for the bad and the good. He has grown with this organization and in turn, he has helped the organization grow. They were mutually beneficial to each other then and with this trade, they seem to be helping each other out once again.
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