Frazier doesn’t go down, yet
WASHINGTON — Despite Wednesday’s games being rained out, Clint Frazier got some good news: he will be sticking around “for now.” The Yankees will take Frazier to Kansas City for the team’s weekend series at Kauffman Stadium, beginning Friday.
The 23-year-old outfielder will “almost certainly” get his shot on Saturday against Royals lefty Danny Duffy, Aaron Boone said. The Royals will also throw southpaw Eric Skoglund on Sunday.
“That’ll be something that we just monitor day to day,” Boone said. “That’ll be a fluid situation. We’ll see how that plays out.”
Frazier, promoted Tuesday, was only expected to be up for the two interleague games in D.C. before being sent back to Triple-A Scranton.
“Obviously it’s a big weight off my shoulders knowing I don’t have to sneak on that team flight right now,” Frazier said. “But I’m happy. I just want to get an opportunity. I didn’t want to go back down without at least getting one at-bat to try to push for a spot. I’m going to make sure I’m prepared for that game and do the best that I can.”
Frazier, who was dealing with a concussion for some time, had been hitting .362 at Triple-A Scranton. But he’s currently blocked in the outfield by the likes of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks and Brett Gardner.
ROTATION JUGGLE
The Bombers, who have Thursday off, will move CC Sabathia back to Friday. Luis Severino will go Saturday, followed by Sonny Gray in the series finale on Sunday. Then Masahiro Tanaka will go Monday in Arlington, followed by No. 5 starter Domingo German.
German will be available out of the bullpen, if necessary, before his start, Boone said.
The manager certainly wasn’t upset about missing Nationals ace Max Scherzer in Game 2 on Wednesday night.
“I always like facing the best — especially when I don’t have to hit,” Boone joked.
The Yankees and Nationals will resume their two-game series on June 18, with Tuesday’s suspended game picking up in the bottom of the sixth at 5:05 p.m. Wednesday’s series finale will then follow 30 minutes later. The Bombers will be in the midst of a homestand that was to include a Monday off-day between games.
They could not play Thursday due to hotel issues and the Nationals having a charity event at Nationals Park that evening.
The Yankees also lost an off-day on June 4, when they have to makeup a doubleheader in Detroit.
“It’s a challenge but one we’ve got to meet, period,” Boone said. “Luckily, the guys in that room are really good at dealing with stuff.”