Just a few years after he was traded to the Chicago White Sox, third baseman Todd Frazier is on the move again. The White Sox continued their tear down in July and shipped Frazier, closing pitcher David Robertson and reliever Tommy Kahnle the New York Yankees for a package of Blake Rutherford, Ian Clarkin, Tyler Clippard and a fourth player. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal first reported the trade.
For New York, the move provides an upgrade at the hot corner that was long overdue. The Yankees entered Tuesday ranked 23rd in OPS (.692), 22nd in (.302) and 28th isolated power (.101) at third base.
While Frazier is no longer the player he used to be, the 31-year-old displayed plenty of power this season for Chicago and will provide significantly more production at the plate than New York's previous third basemen.
Across 335 plate appearances, Frazier posted a .225 isolated power, .761 OPS and hit 14 home runs. A batter that can still generate some power the opposite way, Frazier has been hurt by a lineup that lacks in overall protection around him and playing for a non-competitive team like Chicago likely contributed to his down season as well thus far.
But now on a team in contention and in a lineup with much better talent around him, Frazier should see a nice jump in RBIs, runs scored and potentially some power. The biggest area of concern is his batting average, which has declined over the past few seasons but dropped to .207 this year. He doesn't strike out at an overly alarming rate with a 21.2 percent strikeout rate on the year.
That paired with a strong walk rate at 14.3 percent show that he can still be a slightly above-average contributor at the plate for his age. His defense at third base is not at what it used to be, but it's acceptable enough that he won't significantly hurt his team or starting pitcher.
Frazier will be owed just under $6 million over the rest of the season and is set to become a free agent this offseason. But the cost of Frazier alone is more than worth it given they sniped him from the Boston Red Sox, who desperately needed an upgrade at third base and were in pursuit of Frazier.
New York also adds two significant pieces to its bullpen. The trio of Tyler Clippard, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman has encountered struggles this season.
Clippard found himself out of the seventh-inning role due to a 4.98 FIP, 4.71 BB/9, 1.73 HR/9 and 4.95 FIP across 36 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, Betances has become a two-outcome pitcher with a 42.9 percent strikeout rate, 19.6 percent walk rate and .135 batting average allowed to opposing hitters. Chapman, who the Yankees signed to an $86 million, five-year deal in the offseason, entered Tuesday night with a 3.57 ERA and blown two saves in his last four opportunities.
While Robertson comes with a hefty contract that paid him $12 million this season and is owed $13 million in 2018, he is an excellent piece to have in the bullpen. The former Yankee returns to New York after spending the past two and a half years in Chicago. At 32, he put up some of the best numbers of his career in the first half with a 12.69 K/9, 2.70 ERA, 3.05 FIP and 35.6 percent strikeout rate across 33 1/3 innings for the White Sox this season.
New York's updated three-headed monster will be the best in baseball. Chapman should return to form soon once he solves the issue with his declining swinging-strike rate. But the real beauty of the bullpen starts in the seventh inning where the Yankees can hand the ball to Betances and have him unleash his stuff against the bottom of the order.
If he allows a walk or gets in a tight spot with two outs, Robertson can come in for the four-plus out hold, then Chapman enters for the ninth. With Chapman, Robertson, Betances and Kahnle, New York will always have great options out of the bullpen.
The acquisition of Kahnle is what might slide under the radar. Not only does it make for a great story as he returns to the organization where he spent the majority of his minor-league career, but he could be the best pitcher in the entire deal.
Across 36 innings, Kahnle struck out a stunning 42.6 percent of the batters he faced and posted a 37.7 percent K-BB ratio. That mark would rank the seventh-highest in a single season by a reliever and put him along names like Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel. Kahnle features a high-90s fastball that he uses over 70 percent of the time and paired with his changeup, make for an excellent pairing to overwhelm hitters out of the bullpen.
Better yet, he could be with the Yankees for a long time given he is under club control through 2020. So while Robertson may get more of the attention as the bigger name in the deal, Kahnle is likely the better reliever, is younger and comes on a great contract.
Blake Rutherford gets moved to Chicago as the center piece of the return. He entered the season rated as New York's third-best prospect by MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs. He rated extremely well across the board as the top prep-position player in the 2016 MLB Amateur Draft.
With a future 60-grade hit tool and 60-power as his primary tools, Rutherford drew comparisons to plenty of All Star outfielders. Scouts raved about his feel for the game, especially at the plate, and attributed much of his future projection to his ability at such a young age to have such an understanding for the strike zone and be able to adjust to fastballs and off-speed pitches.
The projection for Rutherford is outstanding, but the results thus far have left a few disappointed from a power perspective. Across his first 334 plate appearances in the minor leagues, he hit only four home runs. But Rutherford's batted-ball numbers show a hitter that is driving balls at a more linear angle.
For the second consecutive season, Rutherford's ground ball rate is above 50 percent, though his line drive rate has jumped from 11.1 percent in 2015 to 21.1 percent this year. The numbers reflect his approach at the plate. Rutherford's .281/.342/.391 slash line, .335 wOBA, 112 wRC+ and .733 wRC+ demonstrate a hitter who does a fine job getting base hits, but isn't very productive with driving runs in or hitting for power.
Concerns over the lack of power carry weight, but this is still a 20-year-old just figuring things out against a new level of competition. Even with the future move to a corner outfield spot, Rutherford's upside remains the same. Chicago will give him all the time he needs and if he develops, could form an incredible trio in a lineup with Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez.
Chicago also added another pitching prospect to its impressive depth. Ian Clarkin comes over from a New York farm system where he rated as its 19th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline and the team's 23rd-best prospect by FanGraphs.
A first-round selection in 2013, the southpaw's career got off to a great start in his first full season. In Low-A, he posted a 17.2 percent K-BB rate, held a 3.21 ERA and kept his WHIP to a reasonable 1.23. But he would then miss the entire 2015 season with an elbow injury that while fortunate to avoid Tommy John Surgery, cost him a valuable year of development and wore down some of the shine on his status.
He would return to the mound in 2016 and pitched extremely well at the High-A level for a starter that missed extended time. Across 98 innings, Clarkin registered a 3.31 ERA, 3.26 FIP and showed consistent command with a low 7.3 walk percentage. More importantly, he finished the year healthy.
New York opted to keep him in High-A again this season. He has performed even better than before with a 7.09 K/9, 0.50 HR/9 and 2.61 ERA across 72 1/3 innings pitched. If not for the trade, there's a chance he could have been headed for a promotion to Double-A given his performance at the High-A level over 170 innings.
He is a bit different than the White Sox other pitching prospects. His fastball, curveball, slider, changeup and control all draw 50 to 55-grades down the line. A pitcher that relies on working the strike zone to generate soft contact and limit the damage, Clarkin could develop into a mid-rotation starter or a strong back-end starter.
Clippard's arrival in Chicago comes with the hope that a fresh start can turn things around. If the 32-year-old righty can turn in some positive outings over the next few weeks then potentially explore a deal in August during the trade-waiver month. An impending free agent in the offseason, Clippard must turn it around if he wants to see any kind of pay day.