The Cubs announced a series of roster moves to reporters, including Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. Lefty Wade Miley, catcher Yan Gomes and infielder Jonathan Villar have all been reinstated from the injured list, while righty Chris Martin has been reinstated from the restricted list, which he joined after being on the bereavement list beyond the seven-day minimum. To make room for those four players, righty Marcus Stroman was placed on the 15-day IL with shoulder inflammation, first baseman/outfielder Alfonso Rivas and righty Michael Rucker have been optioned, while outfielder Clint Frazier has been designated for assignment. The DFA of Frazier opens a spot on both the active and 40-man rosters for Martin.
Selected fifth overall by Cleveland in the 2013 draft, Frazier was a highly-touted prospect as he rose through the minors, eventually headlining the Yankees’ return when they traded Andrew Miller at the 2016 deadline. Frazier showed plenty of signs of his potential while wearing pinstripes, especially in 2020. During that pandemic-shortened season, he played 39 games and hit a tremendous .267/.394/.511 for a wRC+ of 149. Unfortunately, he underwent a miserable 2021 campaign where he hit just .186/.317/.317, 82 wRC+, and didn’t play after July due to vertigo-like symptoms.
After the season, the Yankees designated him for assignment, with Frazier then signing with the Cubs. The one-year contract came with a $1.5MM base salary and $1MM of incentives, though the Cubs would also be able to keep him around for another couple of seasons through arbitration. However, it now seems they are moving on after just a couple of months.
Frazier missed some time this year due to appendicitis and has only gotten into 19 games on the year so far. In that time, he’s hit .216/.356/.297. That unbalanced line is thanks to a 15.6% walk rate but no home runs on the year. All told, that adds up to a wRC+ of 95, which is 5% below league average but hardly disastrous. Given that he’s still just 27 years old and comes with prospect pedigree and a track record of some MLB success, he’s sure to find another opportunity elsewhere. The Cubs will have a week to work out a trade or put him on waivers.
There’s no way Frazier doesn’t get traded and makes it to waivers right?
This guy pops off like he’s actually accomplished anything in the Bigs. He’s still obsessed and hung up with the Yanks and blames them for all his troubles when the bottom line is, he couldn’t hack it. I feel bad for some of his setbacks (mostly of his own making) but his continual mouthing off, when he’s not even a remotely decent player, makes garnering any sympathy for the guy impossible for me.
Cashman “ The Genius” ruined this guys career. Never was given an true opportunity to play and shuttles him back and forth. Then when he could of traded him he went all “ Genius” and didn’t, and got nothing in return. I guess if he was an aging slugger with all sorts of injury history “ Genius” would of payed him $40 million a year.
How many plate appearances did Cashman make on Frazier’s behalf? As a Yankee fan, I’m quite comfortable that Frazier was given every opportunity to succeed and then some. You either don’t follow the team and don’t know, or are trying to rewrite history. You could make excuses about injuries and what not, there might be something to cling onto if you must. But Cashman had nothing to do with the guy’s inability to perform well enough to stay up in the Bigs. Heck he’s been pretty underwhelming in his short stint with the Cubs, not to mention he’s been on the IL with them plenty as well.
2021 was supposed to be his year and he blew it. Then he went to the Cubs and blew it again.
Cashman is not perfect, but he lost $30mm of closers (Chapman and Britton), found amazing replacements and the Yankees haven’t missed a beat, he’s amazing…
How was Cashman responsible for him getting a concussion and then experiencing vertigo-like symptoms throughout the years?
Cashman must be a genius since his team has the best record in baseball while Frazier has now bombed out with his second team.
Sounds like Cashman is doing quite well and Clint is the problem.
Almost all of this teams production is based off players Cashman purchased but okay.
The right side of the infield was signed in free agency, the left side of the infield was a salary dump, there were only 2 teams crazy enough to take Stanton and his contract and he only approved a trade to one of them…..now they have a $30 million DH. Speaking of $30 million they have $30 million in deadweight alone for Chapman and Britton in the bullpen….I’m not even sure there is another team in baseball that has $30 million invested in their ENTIRE bullpen, their ace received the most lucrative contract ever given to a pitcher by about 25%…..$80 million more than the second largest in Stephen Strasburg and $100+ million more than the 3rd highest deal ever in Price.
Take all that away and they have a few good bullpen pieces, a few good starters and 1-2 guys who can produce offensively. How far are you going with that?
Sounds like a You Hate Cashman and the Yankees and Are Looking For Any Excuse to Complain About the Yankees problem and not so much anything related to Clint Frazier, who always had holes in his game from the time he was drafted- holes he never plugged up with adjustments or improvements.
Frazier is kind of the definition of Raw Potential Never Realized. Yes he had that very animated, entertaining tomahawk swing and showed amazing power if he properly connected- but he never properly connected and his defensive metrics were mediocre to passable even before his concussion- none of this was the Yankees’ fault.
Cashman never does anything purely unilaterally. There are scouts involved, trainers, team doctors, etc. and then ultimately it’s all up to the player to play well or play poorly.
Frazier’s disappointing career and his horribly bad luck with injuries and medical maladies have zero to do with Cashman or any other GM, for that matter.
Frazier is just an unfortunate example of over hyped prospects not panning out and an injury prone body failing the player.
Swing and a miss…all you had to do was scroll down a bit and you would see I said this isn’t on Cashman and that Frazier still had to put his mental game together.
My comment here was in response to someone calling Cashman a genius bc he was in first place. And I backed it up with evidence supporting the notion that he buys his production with the Steinbrenners money. Everything you just argued against was pulled out of thin air with assumptions. Looks like you have the agenda comrade.
If you’re a Yankee 4 life, you must be a pretty grumpy fan based on your comments.
I just hope his HOF plaque is right next to Rob Refsnyder
Yankees fans were always rooting for him and got every opportunity when healthy. The way he went out was slap with those Twitter rants about now he is going to shine and get a shot.
Exactly Lee.
He had a great toolkit but just didn’t put it together (his bat speed was elite when he first came up).
He’s also had some maturity issues as you alluded to that go back to his Cleveland days.
Lastly, I don’t think he’s ever really fully recovered from his multiple concussions and resulting vertigo.
I don’t recall the exact tweets but yes they really pointed to maturity. Yankees fans were super excited to see him succeed. Maybe one day he puts his talent together but I have really low opinion of this guy now.
You must not listen to talkin Yanks. They did nothing but trash the guy for years and attempt to make the fan base hate him. Jomboy would overreact by anything Clint did, yet if another player did the same thing wouldn’t care at all. Jomboy also made
Up lies saying Clint told them one thing but later on saying they’ve never interacted with Clint.
There must be some reason that a clearly rebuilding team hits the eject on this dude…
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Yankees pick Clint Frazier back up.
Down goes Frazier!
If anyone puts in a claim for him, the cubs will likely just let him go for next to nothing or nothing, as he has a $1.5 million guaranteed salary.
Love to see the Mets pick him up
Do they really need a .200 hitting bad OFer with no power?
deej,
I agree with your other comment; but not this one.
He hit .216/.356/.297 in 45 sporadic plate appearances.
Is that really a sample size to evaluate; yet alone DFA’d?
The guy is only 27 years old…
You realize they have Khalil Lee up in that spot with a career .053 Avg and a 30 grade power?
Cookie Cutter’d LMAO
There are zero reasons why Frazier should be DFA and NOT Heyward…
44 million reasons why they did it this way tho
Stupid reason, but sadly it is the reason.
Cubs fans are stuck with Heyward no matter how bad he gets until the end of 2023 season.
Actually cutting him after this season is realistic and the most likely outcome. Easier to swallow the $22 mil.
Is the “I make $12,000 a month online” post spam or a really solid joke about Jason Heyward?
Got a point, but with Davis likely not being up until mid 2023 now, they could keep Heyward next year
It absolutely makes zero sense, it’s the sunk cost fallacy, believing that because you’re paying heyward this much money you should keep him and at least get some return on investment….
Frazier was a much better choice to keep for obvious reasons:
1.) he is still young and still has upside. He crushed the ball in the spring, hit well after coming off the IL when he actually got to play and he takes walks
2.) he is younger and still has a lot of team control
3.) he is tradable… given his upside, age, control there are teams that would be willing to trade for him at some point.
In some aspects, the way Hoyer has handled the rebuild has been wise, in others it’s head scratching and appears he doesn’t have a clue…
Getting rid of heyward made all the sense in the world, it opens a 40 man spot, it opens a 26 man slot, it allows more playing time for tradable assets to showcase their skills. Just spending 44 million (or what’s left of it) because we already owe all of it is dumb… not when heyward provides negative value. Canning heyward would open up a spot for Villar (moving wisdom to corner outfield) to showcase his skills for trade. Or allow Nico to play cf and play Simmons (who should have been dfa or traded before Frazier) at short for teams like the Phillies who need a defensive upgrade.
But we keep doing stupid moves, beginning with extending Ross for no reason what so ever. The only thing Ross does well is manage the bullpen BUT he only manages the pen well when he has Thompson as a safety net and Robertson closing things down. Hell I can manage a pen if I have thompson giving me 4 innings of 0-1 run ball, then turning it to Effros and Wick for three outs followed by Robertson…
Here would my counterpoint:
1) Money aside (which as you say is already a sunk cost), Heyward is a better defensive player and a clear positive to the clubhouse vs. a very immature Frazier, who’s head is still stuck in Yankeeland.
2) He maybe younger but he’s been in the league for 6 years now and has not been able to stay healthy in any of those years and has played overall at replacement level. This is who he is and the chances for any noticeable improvement are slim at best.
3) Frazier is tradeable for the same kind of scraps that get designated for assignment from other teams. So to the extent that any player is theoretically tradeable, sure, but not really.
Frazier is not the answer or any part of the answer for the Cubs. Heyward may not be but at least he’s a stabilizing veteran presence on the team, something Frazier’s mentally incapable of.
As a CUB fan who watched Frazier in the spring and seen several interviews he definitely doesn’t sound like a guy who’s stuck in Yankeeland. Sounds like a delusional yankee fan who cannot let go of the past.
Heyward is a better defender… okay… at this point heyward isn’t better than Ortega in CF. He isn’t going to unseat Suzuki in RF… Morel is a lot better in center than heyward.
The fact you cannot trade heyward at all, not even for a lottery type pick, not even for a reclamation project makes him pretty worthless to this team. The cubs got Arrieta for next to nothing (Feldman and a back up catcher). Lottery picks occasionally pay off…. Hendricks was a “throw in” wild card in the dempster trade… Tommy last stElla was had for vizcaino.
If he’s not stuck in Yankeeland, why does he constantly feel the need to talk about them? What is there to “let go of the past” exactly for Yankee fans? it’s not like he was a relevant player. We’re not talking Aaron Judge here. We’re not even talking anything remotely close to Brett Gardner.
Neither Frazier nor Heyward is going to be a difference maker but at least Heyward is never a distraction, except from Cubs fans themselves. And I’m not even sure where you are trying to go with all the trade talk and bringing in random other players??? Neither player is tradeable for anything worthwhile unless they happen to get lucky on a lottery ticket after the fact.
No there isn’t. Frazier is somewhat tradeable, Heyward isn’t.
Obviously you know nothing about baseball or it’s economics.
Or for that matter Villar.
As much as I believe J-Hey should be let go let remember that contract is the only reason he has stayed but then again letting him play off the bench as the fifth outfielder might be the better choice…
Ouch, right before the series with the Yankees.
Wow. The Cubs can’t find room for a guy who can hit, even if he has been in a rut for a while? This Cubs FO is a joke. Didn’t re-sign any of those guys from the 2016 team, will prob give Contreras away (the Rays will take him!), and even the “meh” Happ will prob be given away. Still trying to figure out why Stro and Seiya signed there…this FO may be worse than the Angels’.
$$$$$$ that’s why
I just read a bunch of nonsensical babbling.
@sideline
If Frazier can hit, how come he hasnt? If Happ is considered “meh”, why would you expect them to get anything more than “meh” back?
Frazier is a AAAA type talent, that’s it. He had a brief hot run of quality hitting with the Yankees in 2019 (69 games) and 2020 (only 39 games), but that’s it. It’s not just ‘a rut’, he’s really not that good.
He’s certainly better than Jason Heyward
Rocket – You’re probably correct.
Now that he’s 27 (28 in a few months) and was just DFA’d, this should be his humble pie moment. If he wakes up, takes responsibility, and realizes that no one owes him anything, then maybe he can have some type of career.
If not, he’s done.
Braves need to grab him for depth. OF depth is a real problem at the moment.
Poor guy was just talking about how he looked forward to playing against the Yanks. Pirates claim?
Maybe Royals too. They’ll move Benintendi soon enough and already snagged Roman Quinn.
That’s not Jason Heyward
You owe me $39.99 for a VHS tape that never worked. =/
Haha if you weren’t a back to back to back AAU champ that’s on you
Did the tape not work or did the VIEWER not work?
Maybe Clint should start studying Japanese.
I feel badly for him. And he’s right: telling grown men they can’t have long hair or a beard when 29 other clubs allow their players to attend to their own appearance is stupid. If a free agent with a beard were choosing between an offer from the Yankees and one from another contending club at the same money, where do you think that player would sign?
you also forget that it is new york and a yankee …. if you are advertising and you have a choice to advertise them as a former yankee or a former pirate which one are you saying? Also there are more opportunities in ny than say kansas city. So many will choose new york and shave.
Am i saying Frazier gets deals like lebron and trout? Obviously not but after majority of players playing days are done, they are living on what they made in mlb, hopefully good investments, and guest appearances. I dont think most make it into something out of baseball except for broadcasting or some kind of coaching.
“If a free agent with a beard were choosing between an offer from the Yankees and one from another contending club”
as a bearded person choosing between an offer from the yankees:
“you forget that it is new york and a yankee …. if you are advertising and you have a choice to advertise them as a former yankee or a former pirate which one are you saying? Also there are more opportunities in ny than say kansas city. So many will choose new york and shave.”
kansas city has one more world series than the yankees in the last 10 years so they could have been considered a contending team.
I’m skeptical of the idea that KC would pay for a top-tier free agent nowadays, but what do I know? I was thinking more of a contest between the Yankees and a contender with deep pockets.
Fink while I don’t care much one way or the other about the beard policy, it’s only ever costed them two free agents that I’m aware of: David Price and Brian Wilson. I consider those two bullets dodged.
It seems to me there isn’t much of an issue as we fans make it out to be.
If a bearded free agent had equal offers from the Red Sox, who’ve won four World Series since the turn of the century, and the Yankees, who’ve won one, where do you think that player would sign?
This nonsense was instituted by George, who attended a private military school and applied his romance with things military to his management of the club. Remember how they fined and benched Mattingly before he capitulated and cut his hair? Ridiculous.
Yankees. Boston is a racist city.
NYY has 2 WS since the turn of the century. You also left out the other 25 because reasons.
Never really knew that was the policy. If that’s the case it’s time to end it. George could do that because, well, he was George. Hal ain’t George and he should never forget that.
It used to be a great feature that set the Yankees apart. But honestly nobody cares anymore. The last time I even remember it being a marketing tool was when Johnny Damon came over and had to shave his caveman beard.
Not really, JP8:
timeanddate.com/counters/mil2000.html
In 2004, umpires made pitcher Justin Miller wear long sleeves to cover the tattoos on his arm. Now who cares about tattoos? I also remember when pitcher Arthur Rhodes blew up when the umps made him remove a diamond earring while he was on the mound because Omar Vizquel, at the plate, complained that it was distracting. Now look at all the bling the umps allow.
Deej –
The only one in the whole US. Nothing like that goes on in NY
I’d have shaved the hair off of Goose Gossage’s donkeys junk to have pitched for the Yankees. I look like crap without facial hair too. Like a giant infant. I’d have been a happy infant, though.
Has there been a bigger bust of a signing in cubs history than Heyward? Maybe Fukudome? Like Heyward killed the payroll from day 1 with no results
Jones
Bradley
That is two so could think of…
Edwin Jackson deserves a mention
4 years at 52 million to be a vet for the rotation. Pitched 2 horrible seasons, was a low leverage reliever for a bit in the 3rd, then cut with nearly 1.5 years remaining
Better add George Bell.
That one worked out okay.
Can’t miss like Lastings Milledge
Couldn’t Lastings Milledge…iyeee
Can he play CF? Phillies get calling.
Would like to see if the A’s would give him a shot.
The fact that he sucks, and the A’s would only have to pay him the prorated minimum put Frazier right smack in the middle of their radar.
Yankees once compared him to Trout lmao
When did that happen? I’m a Yankee fan and never heard anyone compare him to Trout.
It never did. He made it up.
I guess you might consider the Yankees Triple A manager as part of the organization…
nj.com/yankees/2016/08/next_mike_trout_yankees_pro…
Did you read the article you linked?
“The biggest thing is I’m not trying to be Mike Trout. I’m trying to be Clint Frazier. I’m trying to fill my own shoes, and wherever that takes me when the time comes is going to be awesome.”
Also, the manager never compared him to Trout:
“Right now, the physical part, you can tell he’s built like a truck,” Pedrique said. “He’s a strong kid. He’s stocky, he’s short … the ball takes a jump off his bat.
“I think he has a chance to be that type of player. The way he plays the game, I love it.”
If you read that article, it seems very possible that Randy Miller, no stranger to “reporting” BS, came up with that clickbait comparison and asked the manager if he was like Trout.
Did you finish it after finding that quote?
“His new manager Al Pedrique already formed an opinion that Frazier can be a great one before their first game together. Pedrique had seen footage of Frazier. He likes Frazier’s ability so much that he thinks the prospect could develop into another Trout…”
P.S.
If Pedrique did compare him to Trout, he was a fool to do so, and Frazier isn’t responsible for what people say about him. Frazier clearly denied the comparison: “I’m not trying to be Mike Trout.”
All of this reminiscence about garbage that other people said about Clint while he was with the Yankees just confirms that he had to deal with a lot of crap published in the New York press. Those vultures were on his case from day one.
I love how people throw out the old ‘did you read the article’ and clearly didn’t read the whole article themselves. I mentioned his triple A manager as part of the Yankees organization hoping you’d actually read the whole article to find the relevant part. You should have just said thanks for providing information you didn’t know despite your fandom. It’s ok, next time no hasty snippy remarks, okay?
Thanks for providing information I didn’t know despite my fandom.
Show me where the words “Mike Trout” appear in a quote attributed to Pedrique. If you can do that, I’ll concede that the comparison was his rather than a comparison proposed by the reporter to whom Pedrique was responding.
Guess is you missed the words “if” and “could” when Pedrique compared him to Trout…..you can virtually say the same thing about any prospect who has the raw tools comparatively to the great ones like Trout…..
This is what bugs me. A trash-talking hot dog like Tim Anderson compares himself to Jackie Robinson and flips off fans, and he makes himself out to be a victim and fans fall all over themselves defending his arrogance.
Frazier has to defend himself against specious comparisons that other people make between him and great players, and he’s a bad guy.
Larry Brown was right on when he published this:
“That’s an unfortunate situation. Even though Frazier and others say it never happened, there will still be many people influenced by the original rumor who think it did.”
larrybrownsports.com/baseball/clint-frazier-apolog…
You’ve used both a false dichotomy fallacy and a decision point fallacy. It’s a false dichotomy because it can be clear (as it is in the article) that Pedrique’s praise of Frazier was sufficient for the writer to actually write about a comparison, so he wouldn’t need to specifically state “I think he’s the next Trout”. It’s a decision point fallacy because one doesn’t need to state “I think he’s the next Trout” to actually agree with the comparison. If one is asked, “is the sky blue” and one says “yes”, you can’t argue that this person doesn’t believe the sky is blue just because you don’t get it in quotes. Finally, it’s a bit of a Strawman fallacy as well because you know I have no way to contact Pedrique and ask him if he ever supplied an exact quote for what you request. The article clearly states that a member of the organization was fine comparing him to Trout “he thinks the prospect could develop into another Trout”. That’s enough.
“You’re talking a lot, but you’re not saying anything.” – David Byrne, “Psycho Killer”
And, of course, you now end it with the old ad hominem attack. Congrats!
Well, I was in the right. Yes, absolutely in the right. I certainly was in the right
Til next time.
Are you okay?
You might’ve been in the right, or maybe not. You couldn’t furnish a quote from Pedrique where he used the words “Clint Frazier,” could you?
Regarding Randy Miller’s reliability in quotation attributions, I found this blog post that you might find interesting:
crossingbroad.com/2015/06/randy-miller-is-an-oppor…
P.S.
If my facetious resort to a David Byrne lyric offended you, I’m sorry. Don’t consider it an ad hominem attack. I just didn’t want to invest a lot of time and energy into responding at length your lengthy post. No hard feelings.
You may find it interesting, but that’s yet another logical fallacy you’ve just committed. (Poisoning the well).
I’ve already provided you with ample proof that your request for a direct quote is unnecessary to prove you wrong.
And if you keep arguing your point, you’ll be committing yet another fallacy (sunk cost). Time to move on.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines. Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way. The time is gone, the song is over.
Time for me to watch some baseball…no hard feelings, either. Thanks for the repartee. Hope to use more Pink Floyd lines with you in the future.
Exactly. Where is al now?
You win, professor. Enjoy your ballgame(s).
professor is just using associative theory which by his logic the below is true.
ray charles is god …. how do i prove this?
love is blind
god is love
ray charles is blind
i have therefore proven ray charles is god.
you are the man Richard Jeni RIP
I don’t think mlbtr is the best place to work on your thesis bub
I do find it curious that nowhere in that article does Mr. Miller offer a quote from Pedrique in which the manager brought up the name of Mike Trout. Normally, reporters are eager to get a quote, hence the cluster of microphones often facing players in the locker room after a game.
It seems odd that if Pedrique initiated the comparison with Trout, Miller didn’t include the quote.
Additionally, the headline appears to be deliberately misleading:
“Next Mike Trout? Yankees prospect Clint Frazier wants to be superstar, too”
Then you get into the article and you realize that Frazier rejected that comparison specifically: “The biggest thing is I’m not trying to be Mike Trout. I’m trying to be Clint Frazier.”
In a previous reply above, I meant to type: ‘You might’ve been in the right, or maybe not. You couldn’t furnish a quote from Pedrique where he used the words “Mike Trout,” could you?’
I mistakenly typed: ‘You might’ve been in the right, or maybe not. You couldn’t furnish a quote from Pedrique where he used the words “Clint Frazier,” could you?’
Dang it.
I found the quote; it’s from the National Inquirer. It reads: “Mike Trout & Mickey Mantle Have Baby, Name Him Clint Frazier.”
Subheading: “Proof of First Baby Delivered by a Deceased Male!”
You can’t miss it; it’s right beneath the aliens landing….again, at Branjolina’s 22nd remarriage.
Kidding aside, I found a quote from when Clint was 19 years old:
“I asked my coaches what type of hitter they thought I’d develop into, and they said someone who can hit .300, steal 30 or 40 bags, and also hit 30 homers. I want to be like Mike Trout. I want to be a guy that hurts you in every part of the game. I don’t want to be a guy that’s known for striking out a lot and hitting a lot of home runs with a low average. I want to be one of the best hitters to step into the box, and [good] in the outfield and on the bases.”
waitingfornextyear.com/2014/01/tribe-prospect-clin…
He said who he emulated. He didn’t say he was like him; he said he WANTED to be like him. Big difference.
So, he, like just about everyone in today’s game (and future), want to play like Trout – cool. But, not like TA saying he *is today’s JR… Lol.
Yeah, I don’t see a problem with what Clint said. I’d rather have that than a guy saying, “Man, I want to be just like Gallo & strikeout 200+ times!”
Flyby, the professor wants us to accept the notion that there’s no essential difference between assenting to what someone else proposes and being the author of the proposition.
If you ask first-year physics student Joe Dotes, “Do you believe E = mc2?” and Joe says yes, that’s the same thing as Joe Dotes being the author of the theory E = mc2? Nope. Albert Einstein’s the author of that theory, and Joe is just assenting to Einstein’s conclusion.
Likewise, if reporter Randy Miller asked minor league manager Al Pedrique the leading question “Do you think Clint Frazier could develop into another Mike Trout?” and Al answered “I think he has a chance to be that type of player,” that’s not the same thing as Al being the author of the proposition that Frazier could develop into another Mike Trout.
In fact, on the same day, in the same paper that Mr. Miller published that interview with Pedrique, Miller’s colleague Joe Giglio published this:
“Frazier has an electric bat,” Cashman said. “His bat speed is already legendary. He’s got all the tools –he can run, he can hit, he can hit with power, he can play all three outfield positions. A very exciting, high-energy guy that shows up for the National Anthem in a dirty uniform.”
In the next paragraph, reporter Joe Giglio wrote:
“Legendary bat speed? That’s the kind of praise once lavished on past stars like, say, Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield or the best player in today’s game, Mike Trout.”
nj.com/yankees/2016/08/brian_cashman_clint_frazier…
Did Cashman compare Frazier to Trout? Nope. Joe Giglio did — and on the same day, Joe’s colleague Mr. Miller published his interview seemingly attributing to Al Pedrique the idea that Frazier could be another Mike Trout, yet notably omitting an actual quote from Al with the words “Mike Trout” and “Clint Frazier” in the same sentence. In fact, Pedrique never said the words “Mike Trout” at all.
So who authored the proposition that Frazier might be another Mike Trout? Was it Al Pedrique? Or was it Randy Miller, who published his interview with Pedrique with the misleading but intriguing headline “Next Mike Trout? Yankees prospect Clint Frazier wants to be superstar, too”?
And even if we were to concede that this exchange between Miller and Pedrique, as reported by Miller, amounted to Pedrique authoring the comparison between Frazier and Trout, what is the professor telling us this proves? The original statement that he says this proves was: “Yankees once compared him to Trout lmao.”
Are “the Yankees” and “Al Pedrique” the same entity? Whenever Al Pedrique said something when he was employed by the franchise, he spoke for the Yankees every time he said something?
He was a minor league manager, not the team spokesman, nor a member of the front office.
Suzyn Waldman is employed by the Yankees too, and she erroneously stated that Clint asked for Mantle’s number 7. Cashman subsequently said it wasn’t true. Could you legitimately say “Yankees said Clint wanted Mantle’s uniform number lmao” because Waldman said it? I don’t think so.
Nor can you legitimately say “Yankees once compared him to Trout lmao” because Pedrique said it, much less if Pedrique merely assented to a comparison proposed to him by a reporter authoring a report with a particular slant, with an attention-getting headline in mind.
Fink: I wholeheartedly agree with your assertion that one can stipulate something may come to fruition without believing that the comparison is valid. The belief in the contrary is a notion contrived from the propagandists in the media – a wordplay, bridging (artificially) the admission of a possibility with the active belief that an outcome is likely. I see what he’s doing, and it’s very recognizable – he’s simply being an anti-Yankees, contrarian voice whose intent is simply to accentuate any unrealistic comparison of any a Yankees failed player. Kind of like anyone who still tries to bring up Refsnyder.
Anyway…. Can you believe the Cubs walked Hicks last night? Wow. That is a prime example of where analytics fail. Hicks has been the worst player in the lineup and they walked him to get to a RH-RH matchup and a red-hot Trevino on the bench. That kid is awesome, man. What an outstanding pickup by Cashman and co. Credit where credit is due, bro., Cash knocked that one out of the park.
Yeah, Clipper, I’ve got to hand it to Bryan. He proved me wrong this offseason. IKF has been much better than I expected and Trevino is pure gold. Love that guy. What a story: fantasizing games in Yankee Stadium with his dad when he was a little kid. And IKF is another Yankee fan from childhood. Even Hicks and Gallo had a good couple of days in Minnesota. If those two can start producing at all, this lineup will be frightening. Heck, they already are. And Judge — just wow. Good times, my friend.
Oops! Misspelled Brian’s name. Guy can’t get no respect!
I think it was Mantle.
Are you sure it wasn’t Babe Ruth III?
He never compared himself to Mantle. That lie was floated by Suzyn Waldman, and she apologized later.
larrybrownsports.com/baseball/clint-frazier-apolog…
The same Suzyn Waldman who refuses to do play-by-play because of the presence of “The Voice of the Yankees”, John Sterling.
Never happened
Plenty of time to “be yourself” aka hit .200 in the minors.
It’s a shame the Cubs couldn’t wait until Monday to make this move. Frazier didn’t get a chance to continue his tradition of having pathetic at bats at Yankees Stadium
Frazier had 17 HR, 18 doubles, 5 triples, 44 walks and 5 stolen bases in 370 AB at Yankee Stadium. That doesn’t seem all that pathetic.
I’m a Yankee fan and I was just trying to make a joke. Frazier must have saved his bad at bats for the road while with the Yankees
2021 was when he needed to do that.
He was playing through concussion symptoms in 2021.
audacy.com/wfan/sports/yankees/clint-frazier-opens…
Reminds me a lot of Slade Heathcott.
Both OFs; play all-out; crashing into walls played to it.
Despite not being as hyped as “Red Thunder” Check out Slade Heathcott’s career BA and two homers to boot lol.
The cubs designated Frazier but keeps heyward and Simmons… screw the cubs. I hope Frazier goes on to be a star somewhere else
If you watched the first 50 games of the season you absolutely know that there is zero chance Frazier will go on to be a star somewhere else. The Cubs still have about 47 guys they are playing shuffleboard with in their 40 man. Simmons and probably Heyward will be gone in due time.
The important news of the day is Stroman’s injury, not the useless moves with guys that have no value to the team a year and a half from now.
Not always true … look at justin turner’s career with the mets … and look at him with the dodgers. I always like turner still cant believe the mets got nothing for him or Daniel Murphy. Two of my favorite former mets that should have stayed mets.
I feel bad for him tbh. Got to meet him in Tampa a few years back and he was actually easy going and polite despite his reputation. Hope he gets another shot at the bigs soon.
How do you kick Frazier to the curb for heyward? Seriously… the guy provides zero value at all… you cannot trade him, he cannot hit, we have morel and Ortega (as well as Nico and happ) who can play cf and corner outfield.
Some franchises are willing to eat salary, some not, I guess. He’s owed what remains of this year’s $24.5M and another $24.5M next year.
It was Theo who signed him, wasn’t it?
i would say salary and also do the Cubs have another CF and could Frazier play CF? Seems CF is damn near impossible to find not only a regular player for but one that stays healthy.
Only morel, Ortega, hoerner and happ… yeah sure do need heyward
Looks like Cashman proved another move right.
Maybe, he comes back to the Yankees!
Still rooting for the kid.
Frazier is a whining loser – discussion over – Thanks for playing
He’s been plagued with physical problems, the last being appendicitis, and he’s earned $8.4 million playing baseball. Are you a millionaire?
OP probably provides more value for his salary as an employee.
So you’re saying Frazier got paid more than he was worth . . . and that makes him a loser?
He’s made 8.4 million. He’s earned $1.95.
If he banked $1.95, I could see you calling him a loser, but I have a hard time calling a 27-year-old multimillionaire a loser.
I didn’t call Frazier a loser. I called the people who drafted and paid him losers. Learn how to read because it is a skill after all.
You’re not even the one who called him a loser. That was Shoeless Joe.
When I said “I could see you calling him a loser,” I was using the pronoun “you” in the generic second person plural sense (e.g., “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”), not referring specifically to you in the singular. I can see how you took that “you” to be a singular form of personal address.
I could’ve used the more formal “one” instead of “you” (“I could see one calling him a loser”), but that tends to sound too hoity-toity in everyday speech, if you know what I mean.
I don’t see where you called anyone a loser or losers, Mike.
He meant well.
I think the Cubs also dumped him cause his recent comments about the Yankees showed a real lack of immaturity and where his head always is. Frazier has always been his own worst enemy. Teams would overlook that for a good player. Not a poor fielding guy hitting .200 with no homeruns.
“his recent comments about the Yankees showed a real lack of immaturity”
You say it like it’s a bad thing.
lol Fink
That really rubbed me the wrong way. Yankee fans were on his side and he was getting his shot. No need to say anything cross. If you recall he was trashing ny and how great chicago is. Hope he likes Cincinnati or Pittsburgh.
don’t get the Cubs fans fussing over Frazier vs Heyward. They are both bad.
This one wasn’t Cashman’s fault and I’m one of his biggest critics. This kid just doesn’t have his head screwed on right. Hopefully he able to have a moment of enlightenment before his physical gifts diminish. Still has all the talent in the world at the plate and his bat speed is still elite. Just has to figure out what’s going on in his head.
All he needs to do is stay healthy.
Would he have been wiser to just keep his mouth shut and let people in the press fabricate stories and crap on him? Probably. There’s no way to win that fight. But he’s a young guy with a high school education from a tiny town in Georgia. He had no idea what he was wading into. I don’t blame him for being naïve.
He’s still got time, he’s only 27 and the skills are still there. I think of guys like Nelson Cruz, Jose Bautista, Melvin Mora….guys with all the talent in the world but it took them a long time to figure it out. He can still put it together and make his mark.
I don’t blame him for responding to people. I do blame him for blaming the Yankees and their club/culture, instead of being thankful for his opportunities. His line about the Cubs accepting him for who he is tells me a lot about him. It tells me a lot about his view of himself. I doubt he’s as popular in the Cubs’ clubhouse as he thinks too.
I’ve been a strong supporter of him, patient of his remarks, & hoped that he would succeed. But, he’s his own worst enemy. I figured he would learn, but it seems he’s as bold as ever.
I’m not saying he wasn’t a disappointment as a player. But I ascribe most of that to bad health.
Maybe I give him too much credit as a person. One of the first things I read about him after he was traded to the Yankees — which, coincidentally, was also written by Randy Miller, so I guess I owe him an apology too — described Clint as a real stand-up young man, and that biased me in his favor.
Here’s an excerpt:
‘Five Georgia Southern nursing students headed for training in Savannah were killed when a tractor trailer crashed head-on into their two SUVs. The truck driver later admitted to texting before the crash. Police said John Wayne Johnson was distracted by naked photos on his phone.
Frazier didn’t know any of the victims: Abbie DeLoach, Caitlyn Baggett, Catherine McKay Pittman, Morgan Bass or Emily Clark.
But one of the names stuck with him: Emily.
He had to learn more about Clark, a 20-year-old woman from Powder Springs, Ga., a speck on the map about 60 miles from Frazier’s hometown of Loganville. He read about her devastated parents, Craig and Karen, and eventually reached out to Emily’s devastated boyfriend, who, in his grief, told the world, “She was the girl I was going to marry.”
Frazier emailed his phone number to Neal Hollis and then did what he could to help the Georgia Southern pharmacy major begin to cope with the loss. They became unlikely friends … all because of his late girlfriend’s name.
Emily.
Why did that name stick with him?
It’s simple, really: Frazier already had become a surrogate big brother to a teen who is now a senior at Loganville High — Emily Rutledge.
She lost her big brother in a Thanksgiving weekend car accident in 2015. Ethan, a college freshman, was her best friend and mentor.
Clint barely knew Ethan, even though they graduated Loganville High only a year apart, Clint in 2013 and Ethan the following spring. But Frazier felt compelled to help in any way he could.
The friendship began when Frazier showed up at the Rutledge home not long after Ethan’s funeral to offer financial and emotional support.
“Somebody one time told me the word ‘Joy’ spelled out is Jesus first, others second and you last,” said Kim Frazier, Clint’s mother. “I always thought that was really cool and I shared that to Clint when he was younger. Clint’s always had a big heart and was always sensitive. He’s always been generous.”‘
nj.com/yankees/2016/08/the_incredible_side_of_yank…
The way the press went after Clint as soon as he put on pinstripes reminded me of the way the press baited and ridiculed naïve Jefferson Smith in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” The fabricated stories about Clint’s alleged comparison of himself to Mantle and Trout were augmented with vicious insinuations that he was faking injuries.
Sorry, but when it seems to me that a wide-eyed, well-meaning kid from a hick town is being targeted by headline-hungry snipers in the media, my reflex is to defend him. Maybe that skewed my perceptions.
I think his worst decision was to get on Twitter. No good can come from swimming in that sewer.
Last paragraph says it all, but what am amazing story. That’s the other reason why it’s so difficult to determine who a person is (in totality) just from his public persona. What an amazing story of true selflessness on his part though. Hopefully he still heeds his mother’s words. Perhaps he doesn’t intend to disparage the Yankees. Who knows? Either way, that story is really cool, man. Shows a different side of the guy.
I also felt the media was unduly harsh with him at times, particularly with the Mantle-number-issuance topic, after the real story behind it was revealed. Hopefully he gets back after it, minus Twitter.
I suspect the shots at the Yankees are a reaction to the hailstorm of criticism from Yankee fans on Twitter. Maybe not. But Twitter is a sewer. The first time he said he was glad to be gone from the Yankees, it was a Twitter reply to a fan who said he was glad to be rid of him.
High Maintenance
There is a real good chance that there is more to this than meets the eye. But on the surface, I don’t understand it. Assuming he is healthy, and that’s a big if, I’d play him every single inning for the rest of the year. The worst that can happen is that he’s really bad, and you get a better draft pick.
he can only be still 27 years old for so long
Jack Benny was 39 for decades.
stroman… less than average stats big mouth…glad the Mets have nothing to do with him
Vertigo? I wonder how many highly touted, promising young players have had their careers derailed and hopes dashed by…covid. As others have said, I suspect there’s a lot more to this story.
It is very simple to figure out why he was DFA. HIS ATTITUDE SUCKS!!!
Veritgo from TBI’s is extremely common and can take people years to recover, while some never do.
Has the stink of a Pirates signing.
Frazier’s big mouth probably got him ran out of here also.
The Cubs Major League outfield is just plain bad, outside of Christopher Morel the entire lot could be released and it would be an improvement.