The New York Yankees are 15 games into the regular season, and outfielder Clint Frazier still hasn’t received his opportunity. Manager Aaron Boone has consistently utilized Miguel Andujar, Brett Gardner, and Mike Tauchman as his rotational players in left field.
With Tauchman dominating offensively and defensively, Boone elected to send Andujar to the alternative training site. This opened up a spot in left field, and with Giancarlo Stanton suffering a hamstring injury, Frazier will have his opportunity to play at the major-league level once again.
Can somebody say, Red Thunder?
Indications are Yankees will call up Clint Frazier today. Not official at this point.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) August 10, 2020
Boone had stated prior to the season beginning that sending Frazier to the alternate site was a very difficult decision. He expressed his confidence in the speedy bat, stating that there were players in front of him that deserved a chance. Frazier would be a starter on any other team, and he has been deserving of an opportunity after a solid summer camp.
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His increased maturity and improvements across-the-board have been noticeable, but Boone wanted to give Andujar an opportunity first. After suffering a torn labrum last year that saw him lose his hot corner spot to Geo Urshela, the Yankees have been trying to transition him to left field.
A costly error against the Boston Red Sox nearly lost the game for the New York Yankees, but luckily their bats were still alive and helped them secure the win. In addition, Andujar’s statistics up to this point have been uninspiring. Over 14 at-bats, he has one hit and a .071 batting average.
Last season with the Yankees, Frazier hit .267 with 12 homers and 38 RBIs over 225 at-bats. He will need to start off strong to earn more starting reps, as Tauchman is currently hitting .310 with nine hits and four stolen bases. He has looked fantastic at the plate and has been a constant threat for the Bombers.
Frazier tweeted on Monday afternoon a GIF from Toy Story. With a ton of other entities on top of Buzz Lightyear, he ultimately bursts through and emerges a star. Hopefully, he can back up the confidence he is displaying on social media.
https://twitter.com/clintfrazier/status/1292856280256831489