Yankees: Clint Frazier officially cleared for Spring Training

It’s been a long road to recovery for Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier who missed most of last season due to concussion-like symptoms. Frazier was a non-factor in 2018 but he finally received some good news on Thursday when he announced that he’s been cleared to participate in Spring Training.

After missing all that time last season I’m sure Frazier is excited beyond belief to get back to playing the game he loves. Ever since he was acquired by the Yankees in the Andrew Miller trade back in 2016 fans have been waiting to see what he can do over the course of a full, healthy season.

He’ll have some stiff competition to try and win a starting job, (or even a roster spot), but you can bet he’ll enter camp hungry and ready to do just that.

The 24-year-old Frazier made his debut back in 2017 and showed flashes of his All-Star potential in only 39 games. Coming into 2018 he was hoping to build off his impressive rookie season and stick on the big league roster but those hopes came to an end after he crashed into an outfield wall and suffered a concussion during the first week of spring training.

The injury forced Frazier to miss the rest of the spring denying him a chance to make the Opening Day 25-man roster. Unfortunately, had he been able to stay healthy he would’ve had an opportunity to play quite a bit during April after Aaron Hicks and his fill-in Billy McKinney both got hurt during the first series of the season.

In May, Frazier was cleared to resume playing at Triple-A Scranton and eventually had three separate stints on the major league roster. During his time with the big club, Frazier didn’t play much and hit .265 in 34 at-bats with 1 RBI. His call up on July 8th turned out to be his last after the concussion symptoms returned forcing him to be shut down.

The Yankees had hoped that he’d be able to return before the end of the season, but the symptoms continued to linger and in early September it was announced he wouldn’t come back. It was terrible timing because in late July Aaron Judge went down with a broken wrist and didn’t return to the lineup until September 18th. Had Frazier been healthy he surely would’ve been called upon to replace him in the lineup and the Yanks never would’ve had to trade for Andrew McCutchen.

Entering this season McCutchen is now with Phillies but Brett Gardner is back so the odds are still stacked against Frazier to win the starting job in left field. That’s not even including Jacoby Ellsbury who like Frazier is expected to be healthy and ready for spring training after missing all of last season.

With Ellsbury projected to make $21M next season and Gardner back on a one-year deal for $7.5M they’re likely each going to be on the Yanks Opening Day roster unless they get injured during the spring. There’s also the slim chance the Yankees can trade Ellsbury and some of the remaining money owed to him but there’s been no indication that they’re close to moving him.

More from Yanks Go Yard

• No, Yankees should not acquire Trevor Bauer for 2023
• Yankees’ Marwin González replaces Red Sox LF in Japan in logical next step
• Blue Jays overpaying for Yankees trade target shows they’re trying too hard
• Aaron Judge’s influence on Carlos Rodón shows he’s more powerful than Yankees
• Yankees sign 2022 Red Sox reliever, invite him to spring training

That means Frazier will probably start the season in Scranton and won’t get called up until somebody in the outfield gets hurt. There’s a decent chance of that happening given the injury woes the outfield went through last season but it’s still a shame because Frazier is the guy who has the most upside between him Gardner and Ellsbury.

He has all the tools to be a fixture in the Yankees starting outfield for years to come but I just don’t see him getting that opportunity to start the season. Even if he rakes during spring training and shows the concussion symptoms are completely behind him I still think we’ll see Gardner in left field on Opening Day.

However, let’s not forget Gardner really struggled during the second half of last season and eventually lost his starting job to McCutchen once Judge returned. The 35-year-old is near the tail end of his career and doesn’t really produce enough to play every day so if his struggles continue early on in the season the Yanks shouldn’t hesitate to replace him with Frazier.

Frazier is the guy who gives this team the best chance to reach their full potential next season so the sooner he takes the starting job for good the better this Yankee team will be in the long run.