Todd Frazier has largely become someone simply playing every day for the Mets because they don’t have any better options.
That is set to change very soon, though, as the Mets are expected to get a couple of players back that will take away playing time from him in Brandon Nimmo and Jed Lowrie.
On top of it, Robinson Cano could be back before the end of the season as well, playing in a rehab game for the Brooklyn Cyclones on Saturday.
Frazier, 32, made his pitch to the organization to keep getting regular playing time on Friday, hitting two three-run homers against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park and finishing 2-for-4 on the night.
In his last three games, he is now 4-for-12 (.333 average) with two home runs, a double, six RBI, and four runs scored. On Wednesday night, he showed his initial signs of breaking out of the slump, coming very close to home runs twice at Citi Field against the Chicago Cubs.
It clicked on Friday night for the third baseman and the team could certainly use a lot more of that from him as he helped seal the deal on an 11-5 victory over the Phillies.
“Sometimes you can tell when guys are coming out of it and I had a feeling that he would be,” Mickey Callaway said. “This guy, he comes to play every day. Good results, bad results, he just wants to win, so I’m happy for him today.”
On the year, Frazier is now hitting .230/.303/.418 with 18 home runs and 57 RBI to give himself a 91 OPS+ and 1.5 bWAR. Defensively, he has four defensive runs saved and a zero ultimate zone rating.
If Frazier can continue to produce as he did on Friday night, the Mets will find a spot in the lineup for him. But, even if that was just a rare occurrence, he still has an important role for the Mets down the stretch.
For most of the season, the Mets have lacked bench depth and adding guys like Frazier and Joe Panik to the bench helps make the team deeper. It gives them legitimate pinch-hitting threats off the bench rather than Luis Guillorme and the abysmal Aaron Altherr, the latter who was granted way too many chances to prove himself useful on this team.
It remains to be seen what Frazier’s role will be when and if Nimmo and Lowrie return this season, but Frazier’s big night certainly helped remind the Mets what he is capable of when he’s on.
