In his prime, Todd Frazier was a dangerous slugger and a solid fielding third sacker. He still fields his position but his value at the plate is undergoing a big drop. This slump places Frazier’s future with the Mets in jeopardy.

Frazier signed with the Mets before the 2018 season, which became a disappointing one for him. He started off well, then he got hurt, then he didn’t play well. His final slash line for 2018 was .213/.303/.390 with 18 homers.

His 2019 is even worse so far. Frazier began the year on the IL, and since he returned his line is a dreadful .146/.167/.293, near the 2018 vintage Jose Reyes territory. It is a small sample of 12 games and 42 PA, but as noted his 2018 was poor as well. This year he has struck out 14 times, so ⅓ of his PAs ended in k’s. He has over twice as many strikeouts as he does hits and walks combined. Please note that all stats are though Sundays’ action.

The Mets are going to have to make some roster changes soon, as third baseman Jed Lowrie has started rehab games with Syracuse, and he is expected to be with the Mets before too much longer. The Mets will have to drop a player to make room for him, and Frazier is on the bubble.

The Mets recently brought up infielder Adeiny Hechavarria, who is a light hitter. However, Hechavarria is flexible, being a good defender at second, short and third, whereas Frazier could only be an emergency short term player at short or second. With regular shortstop Amed Rosario struggling defensively, there likely will be opportunities for Hechavarria to get playing time at shortstop, and just having him on the roster might push Rosario a bit, and a little competition never hurts, even though Hechavarria is not likely to be a full time starter.

Of course, the Mets could drop or option a non-infielder and keep Frazier. The bullpen gets heavy use, so it is unlikely they would shed a relief pitcher to make room for Frazier. They are certainly going to keep a backup catcher, so if the Mets opted to keep Frazier after Lowrie returns that would probably mean dropping outfielder Keon Broxton, who is out of options

The 33 year old Frazier is a team leader, and he is popular in the dugout as well as the press box. However, that can take a player only so far. When a fastball hitter like Frazier has trouble catching up with fastballs, that can only mean that the end is drawing near.

7 comments on “Todd Frazier is skating on thin ice

  • David Klein

    Frazier has a wRC+ In the 20’s yet plays everyday with Davis on the bench while Nimmo gets bench and badmouthed by the manager the Mets love their vets.

    • Bob P

      I agree. Frazier has no business on the field and if he wasn’t making big $ he would have been DFA’d already. The Mets have no understanding of the concept of sunk costs.

  • Edwin e Pena

    Down goes Frazier ! Down goes Frazier !!! Remember those famous words from Howard Cosell ?
    Well, down and out will go Frazier when Lowrie comes into the fold.
    Frazier cannot hit the baseball anymore and the Mets can’t either right now,so he must go. The season will get old soon if the bats don’t come around now that the pitching has.Mets will be more than fine w/ Lowrie and JD Davis at 3B vs Frazier
    McNeil is a stud and has proven everything asked of him, LF, 3B, whatever, the “Squirrel” is a bad ass. If and when Cespedes comes back, I would like to see the “Squirrel” at 3B. Mets need him in the lineup day to day however they can.

  • MattyMets

    It’s not as simple as some of you make it out. A few considerations:
    A) Lowrie is not healthy yet and there’s no date for his arrival.
    B) Frazier is under contract, is a popular player in the clubhouse and a quality third baseman.
    C) the back of his baseball card tells a pretty good story. Last year was really his first bad year and he was injured. This year is a pretty small sample size.
    D) he can also play first and probably short or second in a pinch
    E) It’s not like he’s the only one struggling at the plate. A case could be made for DFAing Broxton or demoting Nimmo.

  • NYM6986

    Then there is Gomez who is pounding the ball as of late in AAA Syracuse who would be a better choice than Broxton to be on the MLB roster. They will send Adeiny down to make room for Lowrie as they have committed SS to Rosario, who will go back to the 7th or 8th hole when Lowrie is leading off and playing third and sharing that position with McNeil. McNeil needs to be somewhere in the lineup everyday and Alonso needs to be at first. Good to see Cano go 4 for 5 as he was starting to look like yet another aging player who had lost some bat speed. Love the way they came back last night and rescued Thor from yet another less than stellar performance. If Frazier starts hitting the ball he will be an easy player to move even if they must eat half his salary to make that happen. It’s a long season and I expect us to be in the mix all year. We do need a monster bat in the lineup and hope Ces will return and they go out and trade for one by the July deadline. This is a winnable division which will be an easier route to the playoffs than trying to secure a wildcard spot.

  • TexasGusCC

    Matt, with all due respect, Bozo the Clown is popular too. Meaning, Keith’s Hernandez has told us that if you aren’t producing, all the talk is meaningless. I don’t see Frazier as a clubhouse voice, but rather I see this as a last grasp by management to see if there’s something salvageable here. There isn’t.

    I predict that when Frazier leaves the Mets, he may get another opportunity somewhere, but I don’t see him on a MLB team in 2020.

    • MattyMets

      Gus, for a nice guy you can be pretty harsh. I think Frazier is untradeable but agree that someone will scoop him up. If he has a decent rest of the year I could see him getting a non-roster invite next spring.

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