Escape from New York
For veteran outfielder Frazier, coming to Cubs a fresh start after rocky tenure with Yankees
MESA, Ariz. — Clint Frazier appears at ease in the Chicago Cubs clubhouse.
Frazier, rocking a red beard and nose ring, enjoys talking baseball and about his two 4-year-old cats with plenty of pictures on his phone to show off. One teammate jokingly called him a cat dad. Frazier already seems comfortable in his new pinstripes and environment.
For Frazier, the Cubs represent a fresh start from top to bottom. The constraints and expectations that came with playing for the Yankees are gone after parts of five seasons.
“Obviously facial hair isn’t the most important thing, but it is a part of who we are, and it’s not fun to be told how you can look,” Frazier told the Tribune. “So I’m glad the freedom that comes here — it feels a little bit more about baseball here than it did.
“I felt like I was playing for the White House the last few years in New York.”
Signing before the lockout became a priority for Frazier. He didn’t want to get caught worrying about where he would go knowing he likely would not be a high priority for teams once the transaction freeze ended. Frazier signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract Nov. 30.
His connection to the Cubs organization and Chicago made it an appealing destination. General manager Carter Hawkins was with Cleveland as the assistant director of player development when the Guardians drafted Frazier with the No. 5 pick in the 2013 draft. His agent represented manager David Ross. Frazier’s fiancée went to Loyola University, and her best friend dates new teammate Nick Madrigal.
“I feel like I was supposed to come here,” Frazier said. “It’s a lot more relaxed here than it is down in Tampa for (Yankees) spring training.”
Frazier is the type of player the Cubs should want to figure out what they might have in him. Only 27, Frazier still has a minor-league option and two more years of arbitration, not eligible to become a free agent until after the 2024 season.
“Sometimes on the rebound, players have a new, fresh perspective,” hitting coach Greg Brown said. “This is a really good place for him because our culture really fosters what he’s good at.”
The designated-hitter addition in the National League should help Frazier get more at-bats, particularly early in the season if the Cubs are committed to playing Jason Heyward frequently in center field. This would shift Ian Happ to left field when his right elbow is game-ready. While getting Frazier regular at-bats makes the most sense for the Cubs’ longterm roster building, he does not sound like a lock to make the opening-day roster.
When discussing how Frazier fits into the outfield and DH mix, Ross said it remains a little muddy.
“The outfield is still taking shape, how guys continue to get their legs under them and have the at-bats,” Ross said Wednesday. “Some of this roster stuff sometimes comes down to options and who has what left from that standpoint, and we’ll put it all together, but he’s done a nice job to put himself on the map.
“He’s doing all he can do to make the team, which is nice.”
Frazier has looked great this spring. He’s hitting .313 (5-for-16) in seven Cactus League games with two doubles, five walks, seven strikeouts and three RBIs through Wednesday. His walks are second most on the Cubs.
From a tools standpoint, his bat speed immediately stood out to Brown. Frazier’s plate discipline and how well he sees the ball have been a pleasant surprise too.
“The obvious thing with Clint is there’s an enthusiasm for what he does, and the positivity in which he comes to the ballpark every day is something that you can really get on board with,” Brown said. “For him, being comfortable is very important and selecting the right pitch, and that’s something that he has shown he has the ability to do.”
Frazier’s adjustments in the offseason focused more on his thought process at the plate rather than any big swing changes. Frazier explained how he has a tendency to use his legs too much, which makes him jump at the ball and lunge toward the pitcher when he wants to go hard at a pitch. So he’s trying to take the mindset of not using his legs at all when in actuality he is.
“It’s just the way that my body registers the thoughts,” Frazier said. “I don’t know, it’s a weird game. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t. It just helps me see the pitches well.”
His years in New York were marred by injuries and concussion-related problems, which didn’t help the relationship between the sides. Frazier felt the issues he experienced stemmed from within the Yankees organization and not the attention or scrutiny that can come from playing in New York.
“I felt like I was embraced by a lot of the fans there,” Frazier said. “So for me I want to get back to just thinking about playing baseball and not having to worry about other things that went on during my time there.”
A concussion in 2018 caused by smashing headfirst in an outfield wall in spring training limited him to 15 games with the Yankees that season.
Frazier said he did not officially suffer a concussion last season but believes he still dealt with lingering issues. However, after running into another wall during a spring game in March 2021, he claims the Yankees never tested him for a concussion, though according to the New York Daily News, Frazier didn’t inform the team his symptoms returned. Following that game, manager Aaron Boone told reporters that Frazier indicated he was fine and “basically said I know what it feels like when you hit the wall and he said this was nothing like that.”
“I don’t know if I ever actually had another concussion because there were never any answers,” Frazier said of the 2021 spring incident. “I just know how I felt, and it felt like a concussion.”
Teams must give players an injury distinction as part of the process of putting them on the injured list. Based on what Frazier was experiencing, vertigo was chosen only when the Yankees placed him on the IL on July 7 because it was the closest distinction they could make given his symptoms, according to the team. Frazier still takes issue with the vertigo label. He had left a game June 30 because of dizziness.
“I didn’t have issues with my contact lens like they said, I wasn’t having migraines,” Frazier said. “It was more like they didn’t know what it was so they were just putting a BandAid on it until they had to figure out what else it was. I knew what it was: I ran into a wall and had a concussion before. There was a lack of communication between the team and I as far as what information they were going to put out to the public and what I was going through.
“The concussion was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through. I was really struggling, and I wanted people to know I was struggling.”
Frazier didn’t play in another game for the Yankees after landing on the IL. The Yankees ultimately designated him for assignment and released him. Frazier was diagnosed with a concussion once during his Yankees career, though he believes he probably had a few more. Frazier finished his Yankees career with a .239 average, .327 on-base percentage and 104 OPS+ in 228 games. He never had more than 246 big-league plate appearances in a single season.
Frazier visited doctors in the offseason and conceded at one point there were “too many cooks in the kitchen” as he gathered information. Ross had roughly a 30-minute conversation with Frazier on the field one day this spring about seeing Dr. Michael Collins in Pittsburgh. Collins is known for his work with sports-related concussions and treated Ross during his playing career, and outfielder Jason Heyward saw Collins in September when he dealt with a concussion.
Ross, who overcame multiple concussions during his 15-year majorleague career, can relate to Frazier’s experience.
“I know he feels like he was able to go through last season and overcome some of that, and the more you get to know yourself and the way you feel, you recognize those moments when you’re not feeling all the way healthy,” Ross said. “I’ve made it pretty clear that I can relate, that I’m one of the ones to talk to here if he starts to feel anything.”
Frazier is hopeful his concussion issues are behind him and in the process gets a chance to take advantage of playing for a new organization.
He doesn’t plan to take on the brick wall at Wrigley Field, ivy or no ivy. Instead, he views his new environment as an opportunity to become a better all-around outfielder.
“Reggie Jackson used to tell me that as long as he had the bat in his hand, he had the last chance to change the narrative so we can write the story how we want to as long as we’ve got a bat,” Frazier said. “I’m just trying to make sure that everything’s in the right place whenever that time comes.”