Frazier returns to the majors with White Sox
The Chicago White Sox promoted outfielder Clint Frazier from Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday.
The White Sox also placed right-hander Mike Clevinger on the 15-day injured list with right wrist inflammation. Clevinger was slated to start tonight at Cleveland.
Clevinger is 3-3 with a 4.56 ERA in nine starts in his first season with Chicago. He finalized a $12 million, one-year contract in December.
The 28-year-old Frazier hit .375 with seven homers and 13 RBIs in 16 games with Charlotte. He signed a minor league deal with Chicago last month after he was released from his minor league contract with the Texas Rangers.
Frazier got the start in right field in Chicago's series finale against Kansas City on Sunday and went 1 for 3. It was his first big league game in almost a year.
Manager Pedro Grifol wanted to get Frazier, once considered a top prospect, into the lineup based on his performance in the minors.
“Just the quality of the at-bats, the bat speed, the way the ball is coming off the bat,” Grifol said. “His recognition and the way he plays right with a lot of energy, and you know plays really hard.”
Frazier was selected by Cleveland in the first round of the 2013 amateur draft. He made his big league debut in 2017 with the New York Yankees, with whom he spent five seasons.
Frazier is a .238 hitter with 29 homers and 98 RBIs in 247 career games. He appeared in 19 games with the crosstown Cubs in 2022 in his last major league action.
“I'm just happy that someone out there gave me a chance to come back out here and try to showcase what I can do,” Frazier said.
Frazier credits help from Rangers hitting coach Tim Hyers, whom he's known since he was 13, for his resurgence at Triple-A.
“He helped re-instill some of that confidence and good attributes I've got at the plate,” Frazier said. “We built a plan and I took it into spring training.”
Simplifying his approach has been part of his work at the plate.
“I just tried to treat it like glorified whiffle ball in the back yard,” Frazier said, “Just let it go and go out there and do what I can do.”