Yankees plan on calling up Clint Frazier when rosters expand in September

Clint Frazier has been stuck at Triple-A Scranton ever since the Yankees sent him down back on June 17th. It’s been a long wait, but according to Aaron Boone, it’s very likely he’ll be called back up once rosters expand in September.

After the trade deadline passed without the Yankees trading Frazier away I think many expected that we would see him again in pinstripes before the season ended. There’s really no reason not to call him back up and before Wednesday’s win over the Mariners Boone pretty much confirmed that he would rejoin the club on September 1st.

His future with the club after this season is still uncertain but on Sunday he’ll have the chance to return and make an impact down the stretch. If Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton ever return from the IL at some point his playing time will likely be limited, but if they don’t he should definitely get some opportunities to contribute.

Right now the Yankees outfield is in pretty good shape with Judge, Gardner, Tauchman, and Maybin. Judge has been red hot of late and the other three guys have all been outstanding, far exceeding expectations throughout the season. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a need for another outfielder, especially one who can swing the bat as well as Frazier can.

In 53 games with the big league club earlier this season, he was a force offensively hitting .283 with 11 HR, 34 RBI, and a .843 OPS. WIth RISP he was even better posting a .375 BA with 5 HR, 26 RBI and a .825 SLG %. His numbers at the major league level have actually been way better than his numbers with the Railriders.

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At Triple-A Frazier is only hitting .243 in 57 games with 7 HR, 23 RBI, and a .726 OPS. That’s definitely surprising but sometimes players in Frazier’s situation can get complacent stuck in the minors so fans shouldn’t put too much stock into his lackluster statistics.

He’s already proven that he can hit at the major league level and if he gets consistent at-bats in September he’ll likely prove it again. There’s still concerns with Frazier’s defense (and his attitude) but he’s shown improvement down at Scranton with the glove and on the days that he does start he can be replaced late in games by Maybin or Tauchman.

At least until Hicks or Stanton returns, I could see Frazier playing a decent amount because lately, Maybin has started to slow down. On August 12th he was hitting .319 but after an 0-4 showing on Wednesday, his average has dipped to .291. The sample size is small but prior to this season Maybin was a career .254 hitter so it’s not all that surprising to see him regress slightly.

Mike Tauchman is also in a mini 8 for 35 skid (.228 BA) and has never played a full big league season which is another reason why it makes sense to have Frazier on the roster just in case their struggles continue.