TOUGH ENOUGH
Clint's play making it difficult for Bombers to return him to minors
Clint Frazier seems determined to put the Yankees in a difficult situation.
With Aaron Hicks ramping back up after an oblique strain, the Bombers outfield is about to get overcrowded. General manager Brian Cashman said last week that when Hicks returns, Frazier will be sent back to the minors. That may not be such an easy call if the 22-year-old outfielder maintains his current pace.
Frazier made big contributions in Wednesday’s 9-5 win over the Reds at the Stadium. He had a pair of two-out run-scoring singles, in the third and fifth innings, and drew a walk and scored from first on a Gary Sanchez double in the five-run seventh. His great speed was displayed as he raced around the bases and slid home — somewhat awkwardly — ahead of the throw.
Frazier said each slide seems to reopen a cut on his knee and that is the reason he walked away after tagging the plate somewhat gingerly.
“I’m trying to show that I can play at this level every day and be a threat every time I step on the field,” he said. “It’s cool to go out and keep having moments like today, but it’s more cool when we’re all clicking on the cylinders and win the game.”
Frazier, now batting .290 with an .871 OPS and 13 RBI in 18 games, has relegated Jacoby Ellsbury to the fourth-outfielder post. The rookie has been to the plate with a runner in scoring position 14 times and has 10 RBIs.
“He’s driven in runs. He’s scored runs. He runs the bases extremely well. He’s playing really, really well,” manager Joe Girardi said. “We’re really pleased with what he’s doing and that’s why he playing.”
Hicks’ reinstatement from the disabled list is still a ways off, but it’s coming. As Frazier said, “Nobody wants to go back.”
“For me you always approach the decision when it’s time to make the decision,” Girardi said. “We’re still weeks away from having to make a decision and there’s a ton of things that can happen before that. I think Brian’s thought there is you’re going to want him to play every day. ... Hopefully everyone stays healthy, but you never know.”
Frazier said he sees only one thing to do until then.
“If the decision is set in stone, there’s not much I can do to change that. But I don’t know. I haven’t had a conversation ... about the future,” he said. “It’s still a couple weeks away. A lot can happen in that time. I’m just trying to make it a harder decision.”