Clint Frazier

New York Yankees: Clint Frazier’s Attitude Becoming A Serious Problem

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New York Yankees, Clint Frazier

Since being sent to AAA from the New York Yankees, outfielder Clint Frazier has made some questionable decisions that shine a negative light on him.

This isn’t the first time this has came up over the last few weeks. After several misplays against the Boston Red Sox on June 2nd, the way he acted with the media postgame left a lot to be answered for.

Frazier was optioned to AAA after Saturday night’s win over the Chicago White Sox. Since then, he unfollowed most Yankee players on Instagram and deleted most of his photos on the platform. He is also hasn’t physically reported to Scranton. He has “reported” and is on the Railriders active roster due to the team playing shorthanded, but has yet to enter the Scranton clubhouse, per Conor Foley (@RailridersTT).

In comparison, Mike Tauchman was sent down Monday night and was in the lineup for Scranton on Tuesday. But, New York is only two hours from Scranton compared to like 14 hours driving from Chicago, but Frazier should of reported on Monday if he went straight there.

This whole situation with Frazier is starting to become so weird. It’s like he is taking everything way too personal, when it’s a business decision. The way Frazier has been acting of late has frustrated Yankee fans, and I’m sure it’s frustrated the front office, too.

If he continues to act this way, he will for sure be traded by July 31st.

Clint Frazier sent down and New York Yankees fans are the worst

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New York Yankees, Clint Frazier

What if I told you the New York Yankees could pick up a 24-year-old outfielder with a .280 ba, on a pace to hit 25-30 home runs and one of the highest batting averages in MLB with runners in scoring position and all they would have to give up is J.A. Happ? It’s a no brainer right? Well, apparently Yankee fans are the scarecrows of MLB fandom because that’s the exact deal they are clamoring to offer other teams.

Clint Frazier is being sent down to AAA to make room for a 36-year-old DH with a bad back who has hit some homers this year and has also struck out a ton. Sweet!!! The best part is the reactions from most fans has been euphoria. They want Frazier traded for the mediocre (Marcus Stroman), the aging out of usefulness (Madison Bumgarner), the injured (Noah Syndergaard) or the pipedream (Max Scherzer).

If you’re ever feeling down and need a laugh to go to any Yankees messageboard and check out the deals people are proposing for Scherzer. ” Stanton, J.A. Happ, Frazier, and a prospect for Scherzer”. The Nationals will be all over Stanton and his huge contract that comes with annual injuries and an aging .500 pitcher in Happ. Anyway, I digress…

So let’s briefly discuss the fanbase’s big issue with Frazier…his defense. Hey, Yankee fans were you aware that Frazier is 3rd in MLB baseball with 5 outfield assists?

Were you aware he is a left fielder and has a perfect fielding percentage there this year? Or that he has made a total of 5 errors his entire career, with 3 of them in RF this year and 2 of them in one rough game? He has always been an ok defender at best, with his bat being his best tool. Finally, do Yankee fans realize that instead of Frazier we are now going to get to watch Giancarlo Stanton stumble around LF like Frankenstein? Someone start polishing the gold glove for him immediately.

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Another awesome aspect of this is that either Voit or Stanton are going to be benched and/or out of the line up more often. Also were now counting on Aaron Boone to know when to send in defensive replacements and not end up having Cameron Maybin up with 2 out and the bases loaded in Stanton’s spot. We all feel like we’re in good hands when Boone is making the calls that decide games right? Right.

The Yankees may trade Frazier for some eh starting pitcher and the masses will be happy. Every single starting outfielder for the Yankees has missed huge chunks of this season,  and all 3 were hurt last season. So when the next injury comes and Mike Tauchman is killing rally after rally, while Frazier puts up all-star caliber numbers for someone else I hope Yankee fans are as happy with trading him as they seem to be now.

After all, we all wanted Sanchez gone for J.T Realmuto this offseason, and signing D.J Lemahieu was such a dumb move when we could have had Manny Machado. You stay classy Yankee fans.

 

New York Yankees: Clint Frazier Optioned To AAA

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New York Yankees outfielder, Clint Frazier.

The New York Yankees announced that outfielder Clint Frazier has been optioned after the team’s 10-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Frazier went 1-for-5 in that game, hitting in the four spot.

Frazier said after the game that he was surprised by his demotion, “especially with how much I’ve [Frazier] felt like I’ve contributed to this team”.

The right-hitting outfielder out of Decatur, Georgia was hitting .283 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs in 2019. He’s been hitting .348 over the last seven games.

Frazier was sent to AAA over Mike Tauchman, who’s spot will be occupied by newly acquired Edwin Encarnacion beginning Monday. Tauchman will likely be demoted after Monday’s game before the activation of Giancarlo Stanton on Tuesday.

What He Needs To Work On:

Frazier needs to work on two things in AAA: his work ethic and his fielding.

On Saturday for example, he tapped one back to the pitcher and slowly jogged to first while the White Sox were attempting to turn a double play. Who knows, a little hustle and he may beat it out or at least make it close and make the other team make an effort.

And obviously, fielding has been a problem for Frazier. He only has three charged errors, but has numerous misplays and misjudgements.

Was Sunday His Last Game In Pinstripes?

Rumors continue to swirl around Frazier about the possibility of him being traded for a pitcher at by trade deadline. With that being said, will Frazier ever be in the big leagues with the Yankees again?

Unless more outfield injuries occur, I believe that Frazier has played his last game in pinstripes. The Yankees just have too much depth in the outfield to give him a chance once everyone is healthy, and Mike Tauchman seems to be their extra outfielder, or the “Scranton Shuttle” rider for the meantime.

Plus, with another team, Frazier will likely see an everyday role and a team could build their outfield around him.

 

New York Yankees: Judge And Stanton Ready To Return In A Few Days

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New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

The New York Yankees announced earlier this week that outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton will be beginning rehab in hopes to return to the lineup next week.

Stanton began his rehab on Tuesday with the Tampa Tarpons, and went 2-for-4 with an oppo blast. He also had two home runs in his rehab game on Wednesday. If all goes well, he should meet AAA Scranton in Durham with Aaron Judge before returning to the Yankees.

Judge has only been working out in Florida, and he isn’t planning on playing any A-ball games.

Judge was batting .288 before his injury in 20 games, while Stanton played just three games before he hit the IL. Once those two come back, you can almost say that the Yankees are relatively healthy.

Who goes?

In all likeliness, Clint Frazier goes to AAA with a focus on defense. That puts the final spot between Kendrys Morales and Cameron Maybin.

I think that they should get rid of Morales, and roll with a five man infield.

Keeping Maybin gives the team an extra speedy outfielder that can produce. In 95 at-bats, he has a .274 average with five stolen bases and has given the team solid defense.

With the Yankees stars returning, it forces the team to make tough decisions, but it will just make the team better in the present and the long-run.

 

Why the New York Yankees Should Trade Clint Frazier this Summer

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New York Yankees, Clint Frazier

New York Yankees Outfielder Clint Frazier has heard his name mentioned around the trade deadline for multiple years. But each time the deadlines rolls around, the team has decided to hold on to him. Frazier, a former first-round pick by the Indians, has recently been under fire for his poor play in the field. After his recent disastrous seventh inning against Boston, which resulted in the Red Sox scoring three runs, many fans are ready to move on. Could this be the year that the Yankees’ Front Office finally moves on from ‘Red Thunder’?

Why the Yankees Should Trade Clint Frazier This Summer:

His Improved Trade Value

Prior to this season, Frazier had a .240 batting average, four home runs, and 18 RBI in his Big League career. This season though, he has had a bit of a breakout campaign. He’s batting .275 with 11 home runs and 30 RBI in 43 games this season. At only 24-years-old, Frazier still has plenty of time to develop into a great player, something perspective teams will be intrigued by. With the Yankees believed to be targeting an elite starting pitcher at the deadline this summer, Frazier would be a great piece of a possible trade.

The Defensive Struggles

To be successful in the MLB, you need to be able to both field and hit well. And if you are not the best fielder, you need to be one of the elite hitters in the game. Frazier is not a good enough hitter yet to be a full-time DH though. He needs time to develop into a consistent hitter before he can be excused for his poor defense.

With the Yankees being one of the favorites to play in the World Series this year, they need players who excel in both parts of the game. They can’t afford to have players who struggle mightily at one aspect of the game. If the Yankees want to beat the best teams in October, each player needs to be one of the best at what they do.

The Crowded Outfield

Frazier has greatly benefitted from the injuries the Yankees have dealt with this year. With key outfielders such as Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge on the bench for most of the year thus far, Frazier has had no competition to take him out of the lineup.

When Stanton and Judge return, the outfield will be crowded and there might not be a spot for Frazier. Being a young player, Frazier needs time to develop and needs to be playing every day to get better. When the Yankees are at full strength, that opportunity will most likely not exist.

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His Character Issues

After the game against Boston this past Sunday, Frazier refused to speak to the media. His poor play on defense allowed Boston to pull away in that seventh inning; but instead of addressing his mistakes, he chose to hide and not speak. He’s not ready for the spotlight of New York.

Part of being a professional athlete is handling yourself well with the media. When you make a mistake, the media is going to do their best to get a response from you. It is your opportunity to own up to your mistakes and make things better. Frazier didn’t own up to his game-changing mistakes though. He needs to be playing in a place where the media is much more relaxed than New York. He is mentally not ready to be under a microscope each game.

 

Clint Frazier’s Defense Hurting The New York Yankees

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New York Yankees, Clint Frazier

There hasn’t been a whole lot that has gone wrong for the New York Yankees this season, but Clint Frazier’s defense has been one of the things that has.

The 24 year old has just a .930 fielding percentage, and is 11 outs under replacement. This means that an average outfielder would get 11 more outs than Frazier has gotten so far this year.

What happened against Boston

Clint Frazier, well, struggled a bit against Boston on Sunday in right field. He had four misplays. Yes, four.

The first one was a simple base hit to him that skipped over his glove, letting a run score and putting a runner at third.

The second, just a few plays later, was what we like to call an “in betweener”. The ball was hit in the gap between him and DJ LeMahieu and Frazier backed off of it, forcing LeMahieu to make an over-the-shoulder diving catch. It was a great catch, but it was Frazier’s ball all day.

The third was a couple plays later. The ball was hit in front and right of Frazier and the ball was falling short and he really didn’t have a shot to catch it, but laid out anyway. He got just enough glove on it to keep it in front of him, sorta, and the runners advanced extra bases.

His final misplay was an inning later, misjudging a base hit and letting it turn into a triple.

Frazier needs to fix his defense, or he could be leaving the team. With players beginning to return from injury, it could be him going to AAA or even being traded. His defense does nothing but hurts the team.

New York Yankees: How Clint Frazier can be elite

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New York Yankees outfielder, Clint Frazier.

The New York Yankees have been red-hot as of late, and red-lightning, Clint Frazier, has led the charge on a seven-game away win streak that ended on Sunday against the Kansas City Royals.

Frazier has been a monster at the plate, hitting an impressive .284 over 134 at-bats including 10 home runs and 28 RBIs. His lightning-quick bat has been the winning factor for the outfielder, however, his defense has been his downfall.

Frazier has already picked up two errors and has a .944 fielding rate, one of the lowest in the league. To put that into perspective, the Seattle Mariners have the worst combined fielding rate at .971, which makes Frazier’s look that much worse. Brett Gardner, who’s been moving around the outfield, has earned a .990 fielding rate, far superior to Fraziers.

The bottom line, the quick bat needs to work on his defense if he wishes to take his overall game to the next level, but starting with an electric back certainly helps.

How have the New York Yankees countered his problems in the outfield?

One way the Yankees have limited his defensive mishaps is by pulling him early during games. Manager Aaron Boone took Frazier out of the game in the sixth inning on Monday afternoon to mitigate the potential for a mistake. Boone plugged Cameron Maybin in for his speed and defensive attributes.

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“It’s just a situation where you’re just trying to put the best defense on the field in a game that you have a lead,” Boone said after the Yankees’ 5-2 win over the Padres at the Stadium.

The Yankees are working with Clint to correct the issue that has plagued him throughout the season, and Boone believes it’s a lack of confidence rather than deficiency.

“There’s room for improvement out there, and I’m working hard, and I’m trying to fix some things that shouldn’t happen that keep happening,” Frazier said. “I’m just trying to target the confidence that I have at the plate, and take it out there into the outfield.”

Hopefully, he will elevate the defensive part of his game and become a well-rounded player, something the Yankees desperately need with the injuries piling up and fatigue surely setting in over the course of the season.

New York Yankees: Brett Gardner On Absolute Fire To End May

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New York Yankees, Brett Gardner

After a terrible start to the season, it seems that New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner is figuring things out. After his average was around .200 for the first five or six weeks of the season, Gardner has raised his average to .240 after a stretch of good games.

A solid last week

Over his previous seven games, Gardner has been batting .435. Despite just one home run and two RBIs in that span (coming from Monday alone), he keeps getting on base.

Gardner just keeps doing his thing, mashing singles to all parts of the field. He is also arguably the most disciplined hitter in the MLB, working long at-bats, fouling off pitches, and rarely chasing.

Though he is 35, it still doesn’t stop him from laying a bunt down, beating out an infield hit, or stealing a bag.

Gardner continues to play solid defense in left field and center field. The only thing that holds him back is his weak throwing arm.

Helps the position battle

Once Giancarlo Stanton comes back for the Yankees, the team will face tough decisions on who stays and who goes. There are really only two options.

Option 1: Send Clint Frazier down, keep Cameron Maybin

Option 2: Keep Frazier up, get rid of Maybin

No matter who they keep, Maybin or Frazier, Gardner will have to compete with them for playing time.

Maybin has a very similar playing style as Gardner, he may just be a bit faster.

Frazier is probably the best hitter of the three, but has average speed and his defense is a liability. In close games, he is often pulled for defense.

So, if Gardner keeps playing well, it may help him see more playing time in the near future and even hold on to a starting spot until Aaron Judge is healthy.

New York Yankees: Good News On Injury Front For Two Stars

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On Saturday, New York Yankees Skipper Aaron Boone announced positive news on the injury front.

He said that Didi Gregorius will begin extended spring training games and Giancarlo Stanton will begin rehab with the Tampa Tarpons on Monday.

The Impact

Gregorius and Stanton are two of the Yankees best players, and it’s good to know that they will be ready to play very soon.

Last season, Gregorius hit .268 with 27 home runs and 86 RBIs. He also had a sellar April, winning player of the month. Didi finished 20th in the MVP voting the last two seasons. He also has gold-glove caliber defense, and with all of that it makes him one of the league’s best shortstops.

Giancarlo Stanton has played three games, and made a huge impact in them. He went 2-for-8 with seven walks. Last season, he hit .266 with 38 home runs and 100 RBIs. He finished 19th in last year’s MVP voting, a year after winning the award in the National League.

Who goes to AAA?

It will likely be Clint Frazier and Thairo Estrada that will go to AAA once Stanton and Gregorius return.

Both players have played well with the Yankees, but Frazier has struggled of late. However, there is no way that the Yankees would keep both on the team, and obviously no way Stanton or Gregorius goes anywhere.

It is worth noting that since Gregorius is on the 60 day IL and the 40-man roster is full, somebody will have to be DFA’d to make room for him.

But, the Yankees knew that they would have to make those decisions, and it’s almost time to do so again. It sucks they have to, but it shows the depth of this organization.

With Players Beginning to Return, the New York Yankees Face Tough Decisions

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New York Yankees, Aaron Hicks

The New York Yankees faced and are still facing an injury crisis, but soon a lot of their stars will be back. However, it will likely be three outfielders to return next. How will the Yankees work this out? Also, once Didi Gregorius comes back, which infielder will go?

The decisions:

Clint Frazier will be returning from a brief IL stint on Monday, and the Yankees sent Stephen Tarpley down for the corresponding move. But, Tarpley isn’t an outfielder, he’s a pitcher.

Tyler Wade has currently been playing the outfield, but I believe that he will begin to play the infield again. People thought for sure though that Mike Tauchman would go once Frazier returns, but Aaron Boone has confirmed that his time as a Yankee has not expired just yet.

Once Aaron Hicks returns in ~10 days, it will certainly be Tauchman’s time to go. A .176 average ain’t gonna cut it in the MLB, especially with Cameron Maybin hitting .333 while playing good defense. Maybin will 100% stay over Tauchman. Maybin is a proven outfielder with a lot of MLB experience.

But once Giancarlo Stanton returns, sometime shortly after Hicks, it will likely be Maybin’s time to go. They may be able to trade Maybin and get some cash or a prospect, because he deserves a spot on a MLB team, but won’t have one with a healthy Yankee squad.

Didi will begin his rehab assignment in a few weeks, and once he returns it will either be Tyler Wade’s or Gio Urshela’s time to go. Didi should be on the active roster in about a month or so.

I think that it should be Wade that goes because, well, Urshela has outplayed him in almost every aspect. Wade is a great base-runner and is very aggressive, but Urshela is more defensively sound and boasts a .338 batting average.

Wade just hasn’t proven himself enough to maintain a spot on a healthy roster, and needs to hit better to spend more time in the MLB. He is also beginning to run low on minor league options, so that could potentially be a problem in the near future.

And once you remove Wade, Gleyber can shift back to second and DJ can be the utility man the Yankees wanted.

Once more players become healthy, the Yankees will face several tough roster decisions. But, Brian Cashman doesn’t make very many bad decisions and you should trust that he will continue to make the right ones.