White Sox Avoid Arbitration with Third Baseman Todd Frazier
By Matt Manetti
The White Sox settled on a one-year, $12 million contract with Todd Frazier thus avoiding arbitration. The third baseman had 40 home runs and 98 RBIs last season.
The Chicago White Sox have agreed to terms on a one-year, $12 million contract with Todd Frazier Fan Rag’s Jon Heyman tweets. Frazier made $8.25 million last season and had 40 home runs and 98 RBIs last season. However he did bat a career low .225 and had a .302 on-base percentage.
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From a team perspective, this was a necessary move for the South Siders. They did not have much of an offensive presence, except for their slugging third baseman. He may not have hit for average, but he did lead the team in home runs and was second on the team in RBIs behind Jose Abreu. Now that he is locked up for another season, they can still look to move him at the trade deadline.
Right now he is their best option at third base. Matt Davidson really has not been playing up to expectations and struggled in the minors. Frazier just turned 30, so he does not represent a long-term option, but he is a good player to have in the interim. He hits home runs, drives in runs and plays solid defense. For now, he is definitely the best guy to have at the hot corner.
We should not rule out the White Sox potentially trading him prior to the start of spring training. But it would seem more realistic they would look to move the former All-Star at the trade deadline. Any team looking for an extra bat to help make a playoff run would be interested in his services. If he can post similar numbers to last season and improve his average and OPS, there’s no reason they can’t get some prospects in return.
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Right now, it does not make sense for this organization to trade away all their assets because they still need to play baseball in 2017. Trading everyone away may make it difficult to field a team that may be somewhat interesting to watch. At least with Frazier in the lineup, they have a bat that opposing pitchers will fear. And he can hopefully provide some protection for Abreu.