Yankees rumors: New York will not sign Stephen Drew, per Cashman

The New York Yankees will not pursue free-agent shortstop Stephen Drew as a middle-infield option this winter, general manager Brian Cashman told Peter Gammons of MLB Network.

Drew, 30, is far and away the best middle infielder left on the open market, and it was presumed that the Yankees would go after him in the wake of Omar Infante signing his four-year deal with the Royals. Since then, however, Cashman has added injury-prone veteran Brian Roberts on a one-year pact and made it known he's not going after Drew, which seems to indicate he's content going forward with a quartet of Roberts, Derek Jeter, Brendan Ryan and Kelly Johnson to cover second, shortstop and possibly third base (if A-Rod is suspended).

New York's stepping out of the mix puts the Red Sox in pretty good position to bring Drew back on a short-term deal. Boston has been the one team consistently tied to the infielder throughout the offseason, and his qualifying offer/asking price combo has made other potential suitors, like the Mets, hesitant to make a move. Gammons worries that the Red Sox could offend Drew and agent Scott Boras by offering too little too soon, but Boston has made it known its plan is to wait out the market before making a move, so the club seems to have the situation in hand.

Boston already has a starting shortstop in Xander Bogaerts, but adding Drew back on the roster would give them more flexibility on the left side of the infield in 2014 should third baseman Will Middlebrooks continue to struggle. The Sox acquired another shortstop option in Jonathan Herrera a couple weeks back, so signing Drew isn't an absolute necessity, but he'd be a nice addition if they can get him back at a discounted rate.

More from SB Nation MLB:

• Baseball Hall of Fame profiles: Barry Bonds | Roger Clemens | Frank Thomas

• Quick and dirty guide to the Hall of Fame ballot

• Emails betweeen A-Rod and Randy Levine are strange, sad

• SP Masahiro Tanaka coming to MLB | Teams that need him most

• Death of a Ballplayer: Wrongly convicted prospect spends 27 years in prison