Yankees should NOT deal Clint Frazier for Archie Bradley

On Tuesday, Peter Gammons tweeted that the Yankees are engaging the Diamondbacks for a potential swap of Clint Frazier for Robbie Ray and/or Archie Bradley. While the former makes some sense, the latter does not.

Yes, at this moment in time Clint Frazier is excess to the Yankees plans. Perhaps even more telling of where he stands in the eyes of the organization is that following Brett Gardner’s placement on the 10-day IL, the Yanks kept both Mike Tauchmann and Cameron Maybin on the 25-man roster, while Frazier is stuck at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

In his last 10 games for the RailRiders, Frazier is batting .289 with nine runs scored, four home runs, five RBIs and an 8:4 K:BB ratio across 38 at-bats.

Add that to the .283/.330/.513 slash line with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs Frazier compiled in 191 at-bats (53 games) with the Yankees this year, and he more than proved he could handle major league pitching.

Now there is plenty of room for improvement in terms of both his defensive skill set and overall attitude — but let’s not forget, this is a 23-year-old kid.

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Sure Frazier should have hustled when he misplayed that ball in right field — and it probably shouldn’t have taken him 72 hours to report to the minors following his demotion, but these mistakes, both on and off the field can be corrected.

Even if you’re of the mindset that when healthy, Giancarlo Stanton needs to be the everyday left fielder — or that No. 1 prospect Estevan Florial will crack the big league roster one day soon (I’m not so convinced) — and that trading Frazier should be done sooner rather than later so that he doesn’t lose any further trade value — then he needs to be dealt for a player (preferrably a starting pitcher) that will genuinely make a difference come playoff time.

Is Robbie Ray that that of pitcher? Analysts are split, which isn’t convincing. I mean, where does he slot in the Yankees rotation, anywhere from three through five, I’d assume. Don’t the Yanks already have enough of those arms?

However, if general manager Brian Cashman can get both Ray and Bradley, I wouldn’t be suprised if Frazier is headed to Arizona this time tomorrow because the Yanks reportedly want a starter and two relievers, before 4 PM.

But a straight up Frazier for Bradley trade isn’t in New York’s best interests. A former starter until 2017, Bradley has appeared in 41 games this season, compiling unattractive stats such as a 4.30 ERA, 1.652 WHIP, 3.19 FIP, 9.6 H/9 and 5.3 BB/9.

Sure, Bradley boasts a 12.5 K/9, has only allowed three home runs and is arbitration-eligible this winter after make $1.8 million this season. But trading a potential everyday slugger for a middle reliever that is anything but lights-out makes little sense.

From May 1 through June 22, Bradley gave up at least one run nine times in 21 appearances, pushing his ERA to 7.83 and WHIP to 1.957, during that span.

If you’d prefer to look on the bright side, in his last seven appearances, which have come in lower-leverage situations according to D’backs manager Torey Lovullo, Bradley is 1-0, scattering four hits on zero runs across eight innings — striking out 14 and walking five.

While this is Bradley’s worst professional season as a reliever, the fact remains he’s only 26 and is club controlled through 2022. But unless he’s part of a trade package and not the only piece coming to the Bronx, Clint Frazier had better not be headed in the opposite direction.