Yankees: Clint Frazier’s postgame comment about 2020 journey is adorable

Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier is a different man in 2020.

As much as we all love Deivi Garcia and Kyle Higashioka, it’s possible no Yankees asset has made a more remarkable transformation in 2020 than Clint Frazier.

Oh, did we say “asset”? Sorry — starter. Once and future starter. Frazier’s earned that recognition after getting an extended chance to show off his new defensive dexterity, supplementing his ridiculous bat speed (which he also maximized in 2020 with a new uncoiling stance).

The kid is now a complete package, and the team would be much worse off if he hadn’t seized a starting spot and run with it — and that’s why Frazier will maintain a starting gig in left field even after the return of Aaron Judge in right, sending Mike Tauchman and Brett Gardner to the bench.

He looked more than competent once again on Wednesday in the first game under these full-strength circumstances, and a beaming Frazier adorably summed the whole thing up in the postgame Zoom session.

Frazier is freshly 26 years old, and after years of yo-yoing, he can’t be denied any longer by the Yankees braintrust. Luckily, the decision-makers seem to be unified in emphasizing Frazier moving forward.

Controllable through 2025 (just like Luke Voit!), Frazier’s hard-hit stats and triple-slash lines are more than enough evidence for his continued playing time.

Additionally, there’s the elephant in the room: Frazier’s 2018 concussion, from which he clearly didn’t fully recover until after the 2019 season, something he recently confirmed.

Back in Spring Training, Brian Cashman outright admitted the unfortunate reality of Frazier’s Yankees career. It was hanging in the balance, and only an injury would open the door to his contributions.

Judge and Stanton’s injuries, as well as Brett Gardner’s aging curve and Mike Tauchman’s unfortunate regression, followed. But give Frazier credit: He got the chance by happenstance, but he kept it with remarkable contributions on both sides of the ball.

The kid can keep smiling under that mask. He’s locked into the core now.

Yankees: Clint Frazier worked his way from trade bait to essential star

Clint Frazier has gone from Yankees trade bait to an essential star in the 2020 season after an up and down first two weeks.