WASHINGTON There doesn’t seem to be a clear path to Clint Frazier’s playing time anytime soon with the Yankees.
When asked how Frazier, demoted on Saturday night, could get on the field, manager Aaron Boone was honest.
“I don’t know,” he told reporters shortly before the Yankees faced the Nationals in the final game of their three games in National Park.
With our list now full, it is difficult to decipher and really get legitimate playtime right now. It is a unique situation. “
The Yankees sent Frazier and reliever Ben Heller. With the minor league season canceled due to the coronavirus, they went to the team’s alternate training site: PNC Field in Moosic, Pa., Home of the Scranton / Wilkes-Barre Triple-A Railriders.
In a corresponding move, the Yankees called up rookie relievers Nick Nelson and Brooks Kriske, both rights.
Frazier did not play in either of the Yankees’ first two games. He was at the bottom of the Yankees’ stacked rotation in the outfield.
“Hard,” Boone said of sending Frazier. “Clint is ready to be an impact player in this league. There is no doubt in my mind.
Instead of starting Frazier, the Yankees put Miguel Andujar in left field in Sunday’s lineup. Andújar has never played a real game in left field, though he has been working there since spring and was the 2018 American League Runner-Up of the Year.
“Unfortunately, blocked at the moment with many good outfielders,” Boone said of Frazier. “It’s like having to add a pitcher, obviously two pitchers in this case to give us a little bit of depth. Unfortunately, with the choice and our situation right now, Clint was the strange man. That doesn’t make it easier. “
If the season started on time, Frazier could have been the Yankees’ starting right fielder with Aaron Judge (rib fracture) and Giancarlo Stanton (right calf pain) each injured at the time.
“He has done everything from a work point of view, from a focus point of view and where I think he is now as a player,” Boone said. “It is difficult when you send a major league player who is ready to produce. But it is a kind of situation that we are in now. So hopefully he gets there and he can stay focused as best he can because I know there is a good chance he is impacting us sooner rather than later. “
Boone said Frazier could find time through injury. He said the conversation he had was tough with Frazier about the demotion of the former main prospect and fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft.
“It is difficult,” Boone said. “I’d say he’s great and a pro and I’m really proud of who he is right now and where he is. It doesn’t make it any less difficult. Again, you’re sending a player that you know is ready to be an impact player in the big leagues. That’s kind of hard to do. Especially with the work he’s done and the progress he’s made in every aspect of his game is real. So that’s a tough one. “
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