Stephen Drew fractured his right ankle sliding into home
plate on July 20th, and the injury kept him out of the
lineup for the remainder of the season.

Could it also keep him away from shortstop?

According to Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers, while Drew is
still recovering, there’s a chance he may never be the
same player again.

“Really until he starts getting more involved in baseball-
specific type drills,” Towers said, “planting the foot,
running, we’ll have a better idea.

“I would say that we’re cautiously optimistic that he’ll
be ready for the start of the season but I think we need
to protect ourselves in case he can’t, and I guess there’s
always a chance that it doesn’t come back and he may even
have to make a positional change, which would not be
good.”

Drew has been Arizona’s shortstop since his debut in 2006,
and the career .270 hitter is generally regarded as being
one of the more steady defenders at the position while
supplying some decent pop at the plate.

Having to move him somewhere else, most likely second base
or maybe third, would certainly mess with whatever plans
the team has going forward.

“I think a lot’s going to depend on his health,” Towers
said. “I’m hoping he comes back and he’s the shortstop
he’s been for all these years, but it’s an unknown for us
right now.”

Towers said the issue is a little cloudy simply because so
few middle infielders have ever had a similar injury.

“Matt Williams had it, he said he had a hard time really
kind of coming back from it,” he said.

They say time heals all wounds, and the Diamondbacks would
like for that to be the case for the 28-year-old Drew.

“Our hope is that he’s the shortstop he’s been for a long
time and we don’t have to worry about that.”

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