New York Yankees: What does the future hold for Clint Frazier?

New York Yankees, Clint Frazier

The future is in egregious thing, but for New York Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier, his luck might just be turning. After remaining in a reserve spot the past few seasons, being sent back down to the minor leagues for a lack of maturity or inconsistent play, Frazier has finally established himself as a starting-caliber player.

This year, with injuries plaguing the outfield, notably with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, “Red Thunder” managed to find his way into the mix.

At this point, Stanton has been eternally coined their designated hitter, as he continuously gets injured when playing in left field. He still managed to go down this year running the base paths, hurting his hamstring against the Tampa Bay Rays. That allowed Clint to elevate his game and post a .267 batting average with eight homers and 26 RBIs in 131 at-bats.

Offensively, he was a fantastic spark for a Bombers team that desperately needed support in the middle of the campaign. His influence was well deserved and put him in a fantastic position to claim a starting spot in 2021.

In fact, it allows the Yankees to make a more sound decision when it comes to Brett Gardner, who would account for $10 million of cap space in the scenario that the Yankees retain him. Alternatively, they could let him walk and keep Frazier as their primary utility outfielder.

However, Gardner is a Yankee namesake and likely has the ability to commit to another season in pinstripes if he wishes, despite the team having his option. Frazier’s impact was not only on offense, though, as his defense saw a major turning point in 2020. He finished with a .984 fielding percentage, committing just one error over 34 games. In 2019, he played 53 games in the outfield, commuting three errors and logging a .963 fielding percentage.

MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch is confident Clint Frazier has earned his opportunity:

I believe Frazier has earned that opportunity. Take out his 1-for-20 skid at the end of the regular season and Frazier was clearly one of the team’s best offensive performers, batting .306/.422/.595 with eight homers and 26 RBIs in his first 33 games. We knew his bat would play, but Frazier’s defense improved markedly, which he believes is partially attributable to being further removed from his 2018 concussion.

While Frazier did have a tumultuous postseason campaign, his consistency during the regular season proved his worth. A full season worth of reps and at-bats should see him improve gradually, and I think he deserves the opportunity next year.