Former Yankees top prospect, who lasted 5 seasons with New York, signs for Independent League

admin | May 10, 2024 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Clint Frazier, a former Major League Baseball prospect, is continuing his career in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

Frazier, 29, has signed with the Charleston Dirty Birds, the organization announced on Friday via social media.

Clint Frazier, welcome to the Dirty Birds family 🔥 🤝 😎
Join us in giving Clint a big welcome to Charleston 😆 #staydirty #DirtyBirds pic.twitter.com/sj65A77jmV

— Charleston Dirty Birds (@dirtybirdscwv) May 9, 2024

The Cleveland Indians drafted Frazier in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft. He advanced through the minor leagues before being traded to the New York Yankees in a blockbuster 2016 deadline transaction that brought reliever Andrew Miller to Cleveland. Frazier and pitcher Justus Sheffield were the main players in the trade, which also featured pitchers Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen.

Frazier was Cleveland’s No. 2 prospect in 2016, according to MLB Pipeline, and he became the Yankees’ No. 2 in 2017. He was a consensus top-50 prospect in baseball both years. He was eventually called up by the Yankees in July 2017, and made his debut against the Houston Astros at the age of 22. He even homered in his debut.

Frazier had a promising start to his career, but a left oblique injury terminated his debut season in August.

Frazier started the 2018 season on the disabled list with a concussion. He then alternated between the majors and minors throughout the year, before his season terminated in September due to continuing concussion symptoms.

Frazier began the 2019 season in Triple-A and spent a couple months up there until getting optioned in June. He did not return for the rest of the season. His finest season in Major League Baseball came in 2020. Frazier slashed in 39 games.267/.394/.511 with eight homers and 26 RBI. Then his injuries resurfaced.

Frazier left a game in June 2021, his final season in New York, owing to dizziness. He went on the injured list and did not return for the rest of the season. Frazier hit.239 with an OPS of.761 over his five years in New York and was designated for assignment following the 2021 season.

Frazier subsequently spent the next two seasons in Chicago, one with the Cubs and one with the White Sox. He participated in only 19 games with the Cubs in 2022, and 33 games with the White Sox in 2023. Frazier batted.197 with a.545 OPS in 2023.

Frazier has been a free agent all summer and has decided to continue his baseball career in an independent league. He hopes to get his career back on track and possibly return to the Major Leagues at some point.

Frazier is only 29 years old, so he still has plenty of time to turn things around.