Matt Ehalt of The Record reports that the New York Mets will not activate third-baseman Todd Frazier off of the 10-day disabled list tomorrow, even though he’s eligible.
Frazier, 32, was placed on the DL on July 9 with a rib cage muscle strain. This season, the eight-year MLB veteran is slashing .217/.300/.385 with ten home runs, 32 runs batted in, and a 90 OPS+.
The Mets signed Frazier to a two-year, $17 million deal in the offseason. They were particularly enamored with his .772 OPS in 2017 with the White Sox and the Yankees, as well as his newfound penchant for taking more bases-on-balls (a career-high 83 walks last season in just 474 at-bats).
Ehalt named Dominic Smith as a potential candidate to be optioned once Yoenis Cespedes is activated for Friday’s series opener in the Bronx. Cespedes is expected to be the team’s designated hitter versus the Yankees’ Domingo German.
Smith, 23, is hitting just .183/.216/.324 in 71 at-bats with a homer, 26 strikeouts, and just one walk. With Cespedes having spent some time at first base during his rehab stint (played nine innings on July 17 with the GCL Mets), it seems as if Smith could indeed be the odd-man out.
