Todd Frazier

Position: 3B
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 02/12/1986

Traditional Stats: 133 G, 499 PA, .251/.329/.443, 19 2B, 21 HR, 67 RBI
Advanced Stats: 1.9 fWAR, 106 wRC+, 1 DRS, -1.2 UZR

Todd Frazier finished out the second year of a two-year, $17 million contract in 2019 that he signed prior to the 2018 season with the Mets.

During the offseason, the team signed Jed Lowrie and traded for Robinson Cano which appeared to push him out of a starting spot, with Jeff McNeil even slated to become a multi-positional player to accommodate both additions.

Both Frazier and Lowrie missed time early in the season, with Frazier’s injury being a left oblique strain that kept him out of action until April 22.

However, Lowrie didn’t end up returning to the team until September which allowed Frazier to reclaim his starting third base job with McNeil often playing the outfield.

The 33-year-old actually was pretty solid for the team as he played adequate defense, which for the Mets was pretty rare across the diamond, while also hitting slightly above league average.

Initially after his return to the team, Frazier struggled mightily with a .143/.160/.265 slash line in his first 16 games back from the 10-day IL.

Lowrie was actually expected to come back during that time, which led some to speculate on whether or not the Mets would simply release Frazier.

That issue never came up in the end, though, as Lowrie got injured again and Frazier kept his spot on the team.

From there, Frazier established himself as the team’s starting third baseman with a .931 OPS in June that ensured his spot in the lineup regularly.

September proved to be his best month of the season in which he registered a 1.020 OPS while the team was looking to claim an NL Wild Card spot.

For his career, Frazier has a .243/.320/.450 slash line with 214 homers and 624 RBI to give himself a 109 wRC+ and 24.2 fWAR over parts of nine seasons in the majors.

Defensively, he’s accumulated 33 DRS and a 26.3 UZR over 8,851 1/3 innings at third base split between his time with the Mets, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Cincinnati Reds.

Contract:

Frazier is likely looking at a one-year deal at this point with a salary ranging from $4-8 million with whichever teams he signs with. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post projected Frazier to get a one-year, $5 million deal in November.

While third basemen like Anthony Rendon and Mike Moustakas have done well this offseason with Josh Donaldson soon to join those two, Frazier isn’t in that tier at this point in his career and is older than the first two names mentioned.

Recommendation:

It doesn’t really look like there is a starting job to be had with the Mets this offseason for Todd Frazier with the team repeatedly saying that Jeff McNeil will be moving back to the infield and playing third base.

Arguably, there isn’t really a backup job at the position with J.D. Davis also having experience at the hot corner.

That being said, Davis’ defense at both third base and left field is suspect, to say the least, which could open the door for adding a more reliable defender in the infield.

While Frazier isn’t exactly a Gold Glove defender at this stage, the Mets ranked as one of the worst defensive teams in all of baseball in 2019 so anything that gets them closer to average is a plus.

Frazier very well could have no interest in being a backup for the team in 2020, but if he’s willing to spell McNeil at third on occasion and serve as insurance in case of injury, the right-handed hitter could absolutely be worthwhile to bring back.