Photo by Ed Delany, MMO
The New York Mets confirmed they would be activating infielder Todd Frazier off the injured list on Monday afternoon but have yet to announce a corresponding move.
Frazier, 33, was sidelined early on in Spring Training with an oblique injury. Over 50 plate appearances between Advanced-A St. Lucie and Triple-A Syracuse, Frazier hit .238/.360/.333 with a double, a home run, and nine RBI.
Manager Mickey Callaway spoke to the Mets’ media corps before Monday’s series opener versus the Phillies and alluded to Frazier spending a great deal of his time at his natural position, third base.
“I envision [Frazier] playing third, playing it quite a bit and kinda going from there. It will be something we have to be diligent about like we’ve talked about before in our communication with all the players to make sure they know exactly where they’re gonna play and when, so they can get the appropriate work in at that position,” Callaway said. “But Fraz is back, we’re glad he’s back, he feels great. He’s had some good performances in the last few days and he feels like he’s ready to go.”
Callaway acknowledged that playing time will have to be divvied up among the stable of viable options the Mets have at the hot corner but made it pretty clear that Jeff McNeil‘s not going to be affected much — if at all.
“We have 25 players that can contribute and not just one person is going to affect anybody else. McNeil can play multiple positions so it’s not just going to affect McNeil. We have to choose between all our position players and see what we can put out there that day […]”
“It’s not just one person. McNeil’s been playing third quite a bit, [J.D. Davis] has too. That’s probably the one guy it’s going to affect, Davis, now that Frazier’s back but we still have options. Frazier can move around, as well.”
When asked if McNeil would remain a regular in the Mets’ lineup, Mickey replied, “Yeah, he’s pretty good”. So that’s that.
Davis, 25, started off slow (.150/.227/.250, six strikeouts over his first 22 plate appearances) but has been on fire since, slashing .343/.465/.629 with three home runs, five RBIs, and four strikeouts over his last 43 plate appearances to raise his season line up to .273/.385/.491.
His play at third has been suspect, at best. The team recently alluded to him getting extra reps in the outfield in order to keep his hot bat in the lineup, but Callaway didn’t seem ready to pull that lever just yet.
“[Davis] needs reps before we put him out there in a major-league game,” he said. “We might have to do it in a pinch at some point, but for him to go out there right now and start a game in [left field], considering our other options, would be tough.”
We’ll keep you posted once the corresponding move to Frazier’s activation is announced.
