Athletics rumors: Oakland comfortable waiting for Stephen Drew

The Oakland Athletics can comfortably "wait and see" if free agent shortstop Stephen Drew winds up re-signing with the club, reports Buster Olney of ESPN:

Oakland can comfortably wait to see if Stephen Drew winds up coming back to them for a deal.

Olney adds that Oakland will likely add another shortstop this winter as a plan B of sorts if they’re unable to reach an agreement with Drew in the near future. Even so, Olney doesn’t believe it will be someone so good, unless they acquire Asdrubal Cabrera from the Cleveland Indians, that the A’s couldn’t adjust if Drew decides to return.

Oakland acquired Drew this summer from the Arizona Diamondbacks. While he struggled over the first half of the season, the 29-year-old played better with the A’s. Over 152 at-bats he hit .250/.326/.382 with five doubles and five home runs.

Still, the A’s decided to decline their portion of Drew’s $10 million mutual option for the 2013 season, instead electing to buy out his contract for $1.35 million.