Yankees need to give Clint Frazier a real chance to succeed

It’s time for the Yankees to admit Clint Frazier is no longer a top prospect. He needs the at-bats to either sink or swim at the major league level.

Giancarlo Stanton’s latest injury is handing Clint Frazier another chance to prove to the Yankees that he’s ready to be a meaningful contributor. It’s imperative that the organization give him enough at-bats to fully evaluate him over the next several weeks.

Frazier is not a fresh-faced 20-year-old outfielder trying to break into the majors for the first time. Instead, he’s a 25-year-old hitter who’s already played 123 major league games over the past three seasons.

Admittedly, Frazier’s development has been stunted by competing in an exceedingly crowded Yankees outfield. The presence of Stanton and Aaron Judge in Aaron Boone’s everyday lineup takes up a lot of at-bats that a player like Frazier might hope to carve out. When healthy, those two stars will almost always occupy one corner outfield spot and the DH position.

Will Clint Frazier take advantage of his opportunity?

Frazier’s defensive struggles prevent him from being a factor in center field. Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner, and occasionally Mike Tauchman soak up all of those starts. That leaves Frazier battling tooth and nail for occasional starts in right field.

Now is the time where the competition Frazier faces inside his own organization must cease to be a crutch for his inability to lock down meaningful playing time. It’s time for the Yankees to give him an extended run of regular playing time. It’s easy to slot him in as the team’s starting DH during Stanton’s absence. Even when he returns, Frazier should be given an opportunity to serve as a high impact outfield substitute.

It’s simply time for the Yankees to give Frazier the opportunity to flourish or flop. If he lacks the ability to help the team in 2020 then they can trade him for a player or prospect who can. If he does show that he’s ready to help boost New York this season then the team’s front office must offload another outfielder who might have a lower ceiling. That won’t be an easy call for Brian Cashman, but it’s why he gets paid the big bucks as the team’s General Manager.

The bottom line here is that Frazier has been a tantalizing, but unproven talent for the Yankees for too long. The next several weeks must and should define his future with his current team. It’s time for performance to rule the day for the outfielder fans call Big Red.