The return of New York Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton has made outfielder Clint Frazier expendable, despite his impressive offensive production this season. His defense, however, has been the caveat in the story.
The Yankees have only been able to use the quick bat as a DH due to his issues in the field, and trading for slugger Edwin Encarnacion has made Frazier useless unless he’s considered a trading piece.
The reality is, Frazier will only be traded if a starting pitcher is involved, but I’m not convinced general manager Brian Cashman fully believes the Bombers need one. It’s possible the ride out the injury bug just as they did with the hitters, pulling up reserve options to fill the holes.
Pitching is different, though, it’s much harder to supplement good pitching than adequate hitting. That’s where the value from Frazier comes from and why it’s very possible he is traded this season.
The New York Yankees know what they want in a Clint Frazier trade scenario:
According to Ken Rosenthal on Fox twitter, the Yankees won’t deal Frazier unless they get a starting pitcher with at least two seasons of control.
With four-years of control on Frazier, the Yankees aren’t looking for a rental like Madison Bumgarner. They want an option that can produce over the next few seasons. A potential deal would factor in the potential of Frazier over the four-years of team control.
He’s already showed he can be an everyday hitter in the lineup, but it will be his defense that needs to improve. If he can solve that issue, there’s no doubt he can be an everyday outfielder for a different team, which is what the premise of the deal is and why his value is so high.
Gaining a starting pitcher for his talents and minor-league prospect or two makes sense, but the return would have to be an impact player that can start right away and isn’t injury prone.