Drew explores free agency
BY SCOTT NEWMAN
Bloomberg News

Major League Baseball is expected to rule next week whether the No. 2 overall choice in the sport's free agent draft, former Seminole outfielder J.D. Drew, will be allowed to sign with any team he chooses.

Drew's agent, Scott Boras, has filed a grievance with baseball, saying the Philadelphia Phillies, who drafted Drew, broke baseball rules by not offering the outfielder a contract within 15 days of being drafted. The Phillies filed a response yesterday, saying they sent Boras's client an offer by registered mail on June 4, the day after the team selected Drew.

''It's in baseball's hands now,'' said Phillies spokesman Larry Shenk.

A baseball spokesman said the sport's Executive Council could rule on the matter by the end of next week.

Meanwhile, Drew signed a contract with the St. Paul Saints of the Northern League. The independent league is not part of the National Association of Professional Baseball Clubs and isn't recognized by baseball as a professional league.

That hasn't stopped Boras, though, from also asking the sport to allow the Phillies to trade Drew to a team willing to pay the $10 million financial package he's seeking because the outfielder has turned professional. The Phillies can't trade Drew under baseball's rules because he's considered an amateur.

Phillies scouting director Mike Arbuckle said that while Drew will stay in shape and gain more experience by playing for the Saints, Arbuckle is concerned about Drew getting injured.

All this rancor, though, won't stop the Phillies from trying to sign Drew, Arbuckle said.

''I was ready for a lot of this,'' Arbuckle said. ''Contract talks are going to go right down to the wire with this guy. We don't expect to sign him until next year.''

If the Phillies don't sign Drew within 15 days of next year's draft, Drew becomes eligible to be drafted again.

Boras is trying to use the same loophole that he used last year to get four draft picks declared free agents, allowing them to negotiate with all major league teams. Two of them got record signing bonuses: First baseman Travis Lee got $10 million from the Arizona Diamondbacks; and pitcher Matt White, a Boras client, got $10.2 million from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Boras has called the Phillies' first offer to Drew of $2.1 million ''ridiculous,'' and ''way below market value.''

Some scouts have said Drew is the best college baseball player in history, listing him ahead of San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds, Chicago White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura, and Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro.

Drew hit .455 with 31 homers and 100 runs batted in with 32 stolen bases and 82 walks in 79 games.

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