Mets Swipe Todd Fraizer Away from Yankees

The Mets indeed have life this off-season.  The team from Queens signed former Yankees third baseman Todd Frazier to a two-year, $17 million contract. The deal gives the Mets a solid defensive third baseman with pop, while delivering a blow to the Yankees, who lose a valuable leader in the clubhouse.

Last season, Frazier split 147 games between the White Sox and Yankees. In his 66 games in the Bronx, Frazier hit only .222 with 11 homers and 32 RBI,  but his value was increased by the fact he provided steady veteran leadership in the Yankee clubhouse. A lot of people point to the fact that the Yankees postseason run was connected to his clubhouse presence.

For a Mets team in a transition year, Frazier is valuable from that standpoint. Manager Mickey Callaway needs a guy who can set the tone for everyone else, and Frazier is the perfect guy to do that.

That being said, the Mets are getting a rather inconsistent hitter. Frazier has never been known as a big time average hitter; his best season was 2014 when he hit .274 for the Reds. Other than that he is a lifetime .245 hitter.

Still, the man hits for power. Over the past five seasons, Frazier has hit 25-plus home runs four times, including a 40-homer season in 2016 for the Chicago White Sox. Considering the influx of power displayed by the Mets last year at Citi Field, and the fact that the fences were brought in over the past couple of seasons, Frazier could enjoy another big season from the production standpoint.

Another big plus to adding Frazier is his fielding. He was ranked 13th in Major League Baseball among third baseman with a .960 fielding percentage, committing only 13 errors in 133 games at third. Two years ago he was ranked 8th in baseball in fielding percentage, and in 2014 he was ranked 7th.

As a team, the Mets committed 24 errors at third base in 2017, which was tied with San Diego for the third most errors by a team at that position. The Mets .938 fielding percentage at third was ranked 29th in all of Major League Baseball. It didn't help that New York had a case of musical chairs at the position with eight different players getting a start at third, including catcher Travis d'Arnaud.

Frazier gives the Mets at least some short term stability at the position, a veteran presence they have not enjoyed on a regular basis since David Wright was a regular at the position back in 2014. That's right, the Mets have gone three straight seasons without any identity at third base. That is how much Wright's injuries have negatively impacted this baseball team.

While the Mets were able to get by with Daniel Murphy and Juan Uribe during the Mets run to the World Series in 2015, Wright's absence has been a huge problem for this team. Wright has only played in 65 games over the past three seasons. He missed all of last year, and is not expected back this year. What's most frustrating is that he has shown no signs that he is willing to hang 'em up and retire.

The signing of Frazier is the Mets way of telling Wright they want to and have to move on without him. Of course that is easier said then done, considering Wright is still getting paid millions of dollars to sit at home, while the Mets are still collecting insurance on the backend. It's a tricky situation to say the least.

Regardless how the Mets situation further develops with David Wright, the Mets are moving forward as if he will never play for the franchise again.