How quickly it all changed for Fowler, Frazier

Dustin Fowler stood next to crutches outside the Yankees clubhouse shortly after being told he was being traded to Oakland as part of a deal to bring Sonny Gray to The Bronx and looked back on his exceptionally brief career with the team that drafted him.

“It was a fun ride,” said Fowler, apparently serious, of his ill-fated time with the Yankees.

He suffered a torn patellar tendon after slamming his knee into a metal box in the first inning of his MLB debut on June 29 while trying to make a catch against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“I had to work very hard to get where I was and obviously made history when on my debut I tore my patella,” Fowler said on Monday. “But it’s part of it. Things happen for a reason.”

Fowler’s injury resulted in Clint Frazier’s arrival from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and since he came up July 1, Frazier has already made fans forget about Jacoby Ellsbury and Aaron Hicks.

Frazier, speaking minutes before the 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline, was pleased to still be on the team after having been traded from Cleveland for Andrew Miller prior to last July’s deadline.

“Last year, somebody with my agency told me there was a percentage of less than zero I was being traded and then I got traded,” Frazier said. “It shows how quickly things change, so I didn’t talk to anybody or ask anybody. If I was supposed to get traded from here, I would get traded, but I’m happy I didn’t. I want to be here in New York.”

And there’s no denying his performance in the majors may have played a role in him sticking around. He entered Monday’s game against the Tigers with an .829 OPS in 90 plate appearances.

“Whether it was [Fowler] or me, I couldn’t control that, but I think I definitely helped myself by showing I could perform in the big leagues,’’ Frazier said. “It’s a really small sample size and I still haven’t faced every team, so I’m sure they’ll have a game plan for me, but I think what I’ve done bought me some more time here.”

Fowler wasn’t so lucky. He was shipped to the A’s along with right-hander James Kaprielian, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery and Jorge Mateo, who played well at Double-A Trenton after struggling with Class-A Tampa.

“I was completely shocked,” Fowler said. “I didn’t have a clue.”