Baker would love to get versatile Drew back in the lineup

The headlines have been dominated by the loss of Nationals center fielder Adam Eaton the last couple of days.

But another important part of this club's success has been on the sidelines for a few weeks now and manager Dusty Baker would love to get him back in the lineup.

Infielder Stephen Drew has been nursing a right hamstring strain since April 12. He has missed 17 games while on the disabled list. Without Drew, Baker has had to juggle his infield lineup and has not been able to give players rest at certain times. In the past, with Drew available, he had that luxury.

"We miss Drew," Baker said. "The adjustment - I put (Wilmer) Difo at third base, I gave Anthony (Rendon) a day off (Saturday) and haven't been able to give Anthony as many days off as I would've liked to. Maybe could've moved (Daniel) Murphy to first a day or two and Drew and second. But the way (Adam) Lind's playing, probably wouldn't have done that as much.

"And more than anything, you've got a left-handed threat off the bench that can hit the ball out of the ballpark. We miss Stephen Drew."

Baker was asked can he quantify how important Drew is. In 2016, Drew hit .266 with eight homers and 21 RBIs. His on-base percentage was .339.

"He can be very valuable," Baker noted. "He can play all (the) infield positions. He can give everybody on the infield a day off. How valuable can he be? How valuable was he last year for us? That's how valuable he can be."

And then there are intangibles that a fan may not see. Rendon spoke about Drew pumped him up when the third baseman got to nine RBIs Sunday en route to the record-setting 10 RBIs in one game. The veteran plays a vocal role in the dugout during games even when he's not available to play.

"He's good for the team. He's one of the spiritual leaders of this team," Baker said of Drew. "He's been on winners. He knows how to win. He keeps everybody calm in the dugout. But he's kind of witty about it."

It has been close to three weeks now. Speaking with Drew in Denver, he said he was ahead of schedule in his rehab. Let's see if he will be activated sometime this week. If he returns to the lineup, that improves Baker's maneuverability immensely.