Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar have returned to the Yankees in recent days. Their promotions were made to replace the team’s two best hitters, Aaron Judge and DJ LeMahieu. So the immediate responsibility is to keep up with what started last season for this team and has continued so far this year – whoever enters steps on.
So far, so great for Frazier, who in his first three games produced five extra-base hits as much as the season total for Gary Sanchez, one more than LeMahieu and two more than Gleyber Torres.
For Frazier and Andujar, however, there is a bigger problem than helping the team win today – building value, if not for the Yankees, then for a club that might want to participate in a trade with the Yankees.
Neither player has the value in the sector they did a few years ago. The Yankees, for example, refused to include Andujar in a package to Pittsburgh for Gerrit Cole. Andujar justified the decision by almost winning the AL Rookie of the Year award. Although with a 20-20 deficit – perfect for the year 2020 – you wonder if the Yankees would have won one of the last two World Series if they had Cole.
The Yankees have admitted that Frazier and Andujar have lost no value in their eyes. But maybe there are a few grains of sand to consider here. One NL executor said he thought of Frazier as Justus Sheffield, in particular that Yankees officials said one thing to reporters about how Frazier and Sheffield were seen within the organization, but that both were known to be very available ( Sheffield was part of the package that landed James Paxton). Brain Cashman admitted that he had many offers to move Frazier, but not because the return is not equal to the high value the organization has for the outfielder.
But there is a flush date about milk and perspectives and somehow you could keep a man for too long and suddenly you can not get to him at Gerrit Cole. One day Manny Banuelos is untouchable, the next day he’s pretty untradable.
Working against Frazier and Andujar inside and outside the organization is the growing belief that teams can find and / or create position players and that one-dimensional, hit-predominant players have less value than ever. Just remember that the Yankees Mike Tauchman and Gio Urshela found for basically nothing. They are better round players than Frazier and Andujar. And so they block Frazier and Andujar from more regular roles with the Yankees now and in the future.
However, there is now a window for Frazier and Andujar to help the Yankees – and themselves. Judge admitted Sunday that he was shocked that he could not speak to the Yankees from placing him on the injured list with a bald injury he said was minor. On day 4 of that 10-day stunt, judge declared himself healthy and frustrated.
With referee and Giancarlo Stanton out, Frazier will get regular at-bats for a while longer and if his fast bat continues to produce, he can at least increase the chances for 2021 playing time. Increasingly, you have to believe this is Brett Gardner’s last year with the Yankees. Thus, there is an almost future scenario of right in right and Tauchman shares time in center with Aaron Hicks and left with Frazier. Heck, it could be in the game this year if Gardner’s ball does not come up.
For Andujar, playing time is more problematic to find. Urshela has established himself as the third baseman, with all those outfielders ahead of him plus Mike Ford and Luke Voit first. Boone expected Andujar to start Monday against Red Sox lefty Martin Perez. Boone also said there was “no other conversation” about who would come up to replace LeMahieu other than Andujar. Which sounds like ardent support. But also that the only other position player on the 40-man roster is unreasonable outfielder Estevan Florial and the Yankees did not intend to use a 40-man roster spot on infielder Kyle Holder.
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Boone described Andujar as “a really good player.” What else can he say? Andujar was a good player in 2018, an injured man who opened a door for Urshela in 2019 and one who did not hit a short stint earlier this year. Maybe there’s still a high impact in his bat, as Frazier indicated when filling in for Judge.
If true, that would help the Yankees now, and maybe those players later.
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