Pittsburgh Pirates: Adam Frazier Needs To Be Traded This Off Season

With a handful of young middle infielders who could potentially be part of the Pirates’ long term future, Adam Frazier needs to be moved to make room for said young players.

One place the Pittsburgh Pirates have an abundance of talent is the middle infield. They currently have two shortstops in Fangraphs’ top 100 prospect rankings, that being Oneil Cruz and Liover Peguero. Of course 2020 first-round selection Nick Gonzalez will be a second baseman but has some experience at shortstop throughout his college career. Ji-Hwan Bae and Rodolfo Castro are two other prospects with experience at both middle infield spots. 2014 first-round selection Cole Tucker has bounced around in the outfield this year to make room for 2019 rookie standout Kevin Newman and stalwart Adam Frazier up the middle.

Out of all of them, Adam Frazier is going to be the odd man out. He has the least amount of control left on his contract, and he isn’t going to play a role in the Pirates’ future when they are back in competition. Though both Newman and Tucker aren’t fantastic bats, I’d like them to get playing time in 2021 fairly regularly. At least see what they have right now speaking the Pirates have time to experiment with different players. This means that Frazier needs to be traded this offseason.

Frazier is extremely consistent. Year in and year out, he gives you a .277/.340/.420 line, and really good defense. From his first big league season in 2016 up through 2019, Frazier had hit .279/.342/.420 with 28 long balls, and a 103 OPS+/wRC+. In any of the 4 years, he was in the majors, he never strayed too far away from that kind of production in the batter’s box.

Not only was he consistent in how he batted, but he’s also been extremely consistent in how he’s gotten there. Frazier always starts the year out as a poor hitter. In his career, Frazier has a .269/.335/.385 line in the first half. But when the second half of the season starts, he hits .290/.348/.455. 2020 has been no different. From the first game of the season up through their 27th game of the season, he was hitting a parlay .186/.226/.342 line in 107 plate appearances. However since then, he’s been hitting .302/.397/.365 in his last 73 plate appearances.

However, Frazier’s value comes in his defensive ability. Frazier as a gold glove finalist at second base last year after posting -1 DRS, but +2.9 UZR, +1.6 range runs above average, and a whopping +11 outs above average. He’s been even better this year with +4 DRS, .7 range runs above average, +2 UZR, and already recording +4 outs above average. He’s also been a solid outfielder as well with a career +6 DRS, .6 UZR, and 3 range runs above average out in the grass.

It’s surprising that there weren’t more rumors surrounding Frazier this last deadline. You knew he was going to start doing well in the second half of the year, and the amount of utility he brings is something a team can always use.

But there shouldn’t be a lack of interest in him this offseason. The LA Angels could lose one of the best defensive shortstops of all time in Andrelton Simmons this offseason. If they decide to move David Fletcher to shortstop, Frazier could be on their radar. The Oakland A’s will see both Marcus Semien and Tommy LaStella hit free agency as well, their primary shortstop and second baseman. The New York Yankees could lose D.J. LeMahieu in free agency. Plus Frazier could provide depth in the outfield for the oft-injured Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks.

It’s possible that Howie Kendrick, who is 37, calls it a career. Frazier could find himself filling in the role Kendrick will leave behind for the Nationals. Asdrubal Cabrera is also another aging Nationals’ utility man that will be hitting free agency. The Padres are using Jurickson Profar as a super-utility man. Not only is Profar a free agent at the season’s end, but Frazier would be a massive upgrade to Profar.

The Minnesota Twins could replace soon-to-be free agent Marwin Gonzalez by swinging a trade for Frazier. Another super-utility man that will hit free agency is Dodgers’ Enrique Hernandez. This could spark interest in Frazier if they decide to pursue another utility option.

Adam Frazier needs to be moved this offseason. Obviously, I don’t want him to be moved at the first offer that comes to Ben Cherington. However, there shouldn’t be a shortage of interest in him, and the Pirates need to experiment with their young players. The next two years will establish who is part of the team’s future, and who is not. Frazier is not part of that future, and will only take away plate appearances from players that might potentially be.