There is no doubt that the New York Yankees roster is already flooded with talented players.
Saturday night, they added to that pool by acquiring the American League-leader in home runs, Edwin Encarnacion, from Seattle in exchange for cash considerations.
Encarnacion brings his 21 home runs to the Bronx, and subsequently resulting in the demotion of Clint Frazier to Triple-A Scranton to make room.
With key names Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton making returns from the injured list soon, general manager Brian Cashman had some serious thinking to do.
Frazier was having a big year. His name was not one to constantly come up in headlines, but he was shouldering a lot of the load in the outfield for quite some time this season.
The 24-year-old missed a lot of time last season due to an illness. He then followed up by telling us all offseason that he was coming back and he was going to claim a spot in the lineup.
While it seemed as though Frazier was outplaying Brett Gardner, whom also plays left field, it’s now become evident that he has lost the battle.
In 191 at-bats this season, the young stud earned an .283 average with 11 round-trippers and 34 runs batted in. Looking at those numbers, they’re nothing spectacular.
Yet, in spite of everything, you cannot say he didn’t step up big-time for the Yankees this season.
Speaking to media after the game when the news broke, Clint did admit he was afraid he was in danger of losing his spot when Judge and Stanton came back. Still, he was shocked when he recieved the call.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow. Yeah, it’s never fun. Especially with how much I’ve felt like I’ve contributed to this team this year.”
From an outside perspective, it’s really is tough to watch. He’s been traded before, and it will most likely happen again soon. A hardworking baseball personality like that does not belong in the minors.
Frazier is an avid social media user. Following that breaking news, he cleared his instagram of all posts except two. A photograph with friends and a photo of him in uniform with the Jackie Robinsons number across the back. Still his bio reads “New York Yankees.”
His goal was to show New York and the MLB what he can do, and he believes he did that. It doesn’t seem that he will be up in Yankee Stadium in any games in the near future, so what is his plan now?
Whether that be him getting traded, or continuing to sit in the minors until his turn comes again –– regardless, this rising star needs to be on a team where he can showcase his abilities. Best of luck, Clint. We know this isn’t over.
