Business plan has worked for Drew

J.D. Drew took the Dodgers by surprise after the 2006 season when he opted out of the final three seasons of his five-year, $55-million contract and signed with the Red Sox.

It turns out leaving L.A. was a good career move for the 11-year veteran -- he’s making $3 million more per year with Boston, he won a World Series ring last season and he picked up the All-Star game most valuable player award on Tuesday.

“At the time, it was a move I had to look into and it was a move I needed to make,” Drew said Saturday before going one for three in Boston’s 4-2 loss in Anaheim. “It’s all worked out.”

Throughout his career, Drew has been prone to injury -- shoulder surgery and a broken wrist limited him to 72 games in 2005, only two in a long line of injuries that has caused him to miss large chunks of games. But this season, Drew, who is hitting .298 with 17 home runs and 55 runs batted in, has been the one picking up the slack for injured teammates.

When Red Sox slugger David Ortiz went on the disabled list because of a wrist injury he suffered on May 31, Drew took Ortiz’s No. 3 spot in the batting order and went on a tear. In June, Drew had 12 home runs and 29 RBIs and batted .337 to earn the American League player-of-the-month award. Since Ortiz was hurt, the Red Sox are 24-17.

“Without J.D., we’d be in trouble,” Boston backup first baseman Sean Casey said. “When Big Papi [Ortiz] went down, J.D. really stepped up. He was kind of our go-to guy. I think he exceeded everybody’s expectations. He really had some big hits, timely hits. A couple of games, it felt like he won them.”

Drew fulfilled a career-long wish in earning a trip to his first All-Star game thanks to his red-hot June. He garnered MVP honors by going two for four with a two-run home run that tied the score in the seventh inning, and he almost got a chance to attain another career goal during the 15-inning marathon -- to pitch in a game.

With his team running out of pitchers, Red Sox and AL Manager Terry Francona nearly let Drew pitch, but it never came to that. The AL finally prevailed, 4-3.

“It was a cool experience,” Drew said. “It’ll be a really great memory.”

Drew’s resurgence in 2008 seemed unlikely given his numbers last season. He hit .270 with only 11 home runs in 140 games. Hamstring problems plagued him, but he also dealt with off-the-field issues involving his son, Jack, now 2, who had surgery last August to correct displacement of his hips.

“It’s something that as a father, you don’t want to experience,” Drew said. “But ultimately it all worked out.”

After spending six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Drew has changed addresses a few times over the last five years, spending 2004 in Atlanta before signing with the Dodgers. Although he said he enjoyed playing in Los Angeles, he has no regrets of leaving.

“I had a great time in L.A., living where I lived in Pasadena,” Drew said. “But the business side of baseball takes you different places.”

--

chris.hine@latimes.com