Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole praises former teammate and Bombers’ trade target

May 30, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier (26) reacts after securing the final out against the Colorado Rockies during the seventh inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees could use some help in their infield, for depth purposes and to push struggling shortstop Gleyber Torres, and in the outfield, where they are playing the likes of Brett Gardner, Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier and Tim Locastro virtually every day. Ace Gerrit Cole spoke with the media on Monday from Denver and said his former teammate Adam Frazier, a Yankees’ target, is a very good player.

Frazier can play second base and the outfield, and is among the league leaders in several offensive categories. He would make perfect sense for the offensively-challenged Yankees.

Frazier just made the All-Star Game for the first time in his career, and will be starting at second base for the National League.

The Yankees could really use a player like Frazier

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (link to the NJ Advance Media article here), the Yankees ace said that Frazier “is a good player. I don’t know how much control he has over the trade, but there’s always a little bit of gamesmanship going on in the clubhouses in this situation. With a player under control, that’s almost impossible to control, in my opinion. ‘Fraz’ just has to keep doing what he’s doing, keep his head down, keep hitting, and things are going to work out for him. Hopefully at some point he gets the opportunity to choose where he wants to play.”

Both players were teammates in Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017, before Cole was traded to the Houston Astros. He ended up with the Yankees after two seasons in Houston.

Frazier, currently hitting .330 in the 2021 campaign, is trying not to be distracted by the trade speculation.

“I’ve said this a bunch, but I just try to take it in stride, control what I can control and see what happens,” Frazier said. “I know I can’t control it, so why worry about it?”

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