DON’T SEND DOWN FRAZIER

Yankees should make tough decision and ditch Ellsbury to pave way for Clint

SEATTLE — Joe Girardi intimated on Saturday that Clint Frazier has surpassed Jacoby Ellsbury on the outfield depth chart — and the Yankees will be much better off if it stays that way. “It’s tough to address a player that has had a really good career and tell him that you’re going with someone younger who has the hot hand,” Girardi said Saturday. “That’s never an easy conversation. But it’s the part of the game that you have to deal with. And the big thing is we’re not saying it’s permanent, but when (Jacoby) gets his chances, it’s important that he plays well.”

In their quest to get younger and more athletic, it seems like the Yankees have found something in Frazier. The 22-year-old rookie, acquired at last season’s trade deadline in exchange for Andrew Miller, brings a much-needed dynamic quality to the lineup with his aggressiveness and flair for the dramatic.

Since being called up from Triple-A Scranton, Frazier is slashing .294/.302/.627. He homered in his first career MLB game on July 1 and delivered a walk-off blast exactly a week later. In Friday’s 5-1 victory over the Mariners, Frazier posted an RBI double and made a tremendous diving catch.

All the off-the-field controversy and maturity concerns aside, Frazier has let his play do the talking to date. He even had a nice conversation with mentor Reggie Jackson in the clubhouse after Friday night’s game.

Frazier said he began to feel comfortable on July 8 — when he hit the game-winning homer after making a significant mechanical adjustment at the plate.

“I jumped at the pitcher a lot,” he said. “I didn’t let him come to me. I tried to meet him in the middle, and it’s hard because guys are sinking the ball and cutting the ball, and my eyes were moving — if that makes sense — rather than keeping my head still and seeing the baseball longer.

“(Hitting coach) Alan Cockrell just told me to sit on my backside, and what I’ve been doing is trying to point my left pocket of my pants at the position. If you watch, if I get in a good position, it almost looks like I’m sitting there holding my leg up, that’s the position I’m trying to get in. Guys make it different when they slide-step. They try to throw your timing off. But it’s a matter of me just trying to figure out what they’re going to do ahead of time.”

And then there is Ellsbury, who is slated to make $130,511.46 per game whether he plays or not through 2020. Ellsbury used to be younger, more athletic, more dynamic. That’s how he got paid $153 million over seven years in the first place. Plus, there was that whole Robinson Cano ordeal …

But the 33-year-old veteran is no longer that player — now the fifth-best outfielder in the organization behind Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner and Frazier. He just happens to make way more money than the other four players combined.

And that’s a problem for the Yankees, who would be best-served cutting Ellsbury loose when Hicks returns from his oblique injury in 2-to-3 weeks. Only it doesn’t work that way. Brian Cashman has said that when Hicks comes back, Frazier will likely be sent down because he has minorleague options.

“The way I view it is I’m here right now, 2-to-3 weeks is a long ways away, and I’m going to continue to make him think that I can stay up here regardless of what’s going to happen,” said Frazier, who was in Saturday’s lineup hitting second and playing left. “But September’s right around the corner. Whenever Aaron comes back, whatever move they make is best for the team, and I have to view it that way.”

Frazier was pleased to hear an endorsement from his manager.

“I think it’s a really good feeling knowing that your manager has seen the work that you’ve put in,” he said. “It’s hard when you hear that you’re going down and you’re playing well, but I’m here to try to produce and make it a harder decision.”

Generally speaking, owners of professional sports teams don’t like to pay their employees massive sums of money to go away. The Yankees, though, will have to eventually at least consider releasing Ellsbury or eating a large chunk of his remaining sum owed in a trade in order to clear future playing time for Hicks and Frazier.

Gardner is also 33, but still provides plenty of value both on and off the field, serving as a solid example to the younger players with his work ethic and hustle. Judge has shown longterm superstar potential, while Frazier is only just scratching the surface of his capabilities. The organization is also extremely high on Dustin Fowler (injured) and Class-A prospect Estevan Florial. And there’s always the thought of Bryce Harper in 2019.

Ellsbury was having a fairly productive season with a .771 OPS before suffering a concussion on May 24 while making a gutsy catch and slamming into the center-field wall at Yankee Stadium. Since returning from the DL on June 26, he’s posted a .497 OPS.

Asked if he’s lived up to the team’s expectations and his contract, Ellsbury replied: “The first two months of the year I was playing very well, it was my 2013 numbers. So it’s just been the last three weeks, is how I view it. I just need to continue to work hard and continue to do everything I can to help the team win.”

The Yankees need more than that. Their fans deserve more than that. They deserve exactly what Frazier is giving them on a daily basis. And maybe Ellsbury can turn it around with a change of scenery.

Girardi wasn’t ready to speculate about what the future holds.

“I think you address the situation when you get there,” the manager said.

At this stage, Frazier has gamechanging ability. Ellsbury doesn’t.