Pirates trade Adam Frazier to Padres
Pittsburgh Pirates fans haven’t had too much to smile about watching their team this season, but second baseman Adam Frazier has been one of the few bright spots. However, supporters of the club will need to find something else to get excited about as it was announced on Sunday that Frazier had been traded to the San Diego Padres.
In exchange for Frazier, the Pirates acquired three prospects and $1.4m. The three prospects include right-hander Mitchell Miliano, shortstop Tucupita Marcano and outfielder Jack Suwinski.
Frazier entered Sunday with a .327 average, the second-best in all of Major League Baseball. He also has four home runs and 32 RBIs to go along with his impressive batting average. With the Pirates sitting dead last in the National Central division though with an abysmal 38-61 record, the club decided to make the move and start focusing on rebuilding the squad.
“I’m happy for the guy. Dude’s an All-Star,” Pirates pitcher T.J. Brubaker told media following Pittsburgh’s 6-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday.
Most players on the Pirates echoed the same sentiments.
“Obviously, we’re all excited for him, and he’s excited,” said catcher Jacob Stallings. But Stallings also provided the media with the hard truth as well.
“It stinks for us,” Stallings said via Triblive. “He’s obviously set the tone at the top of our lineup all year and just had an amazing, amazing year. So it’s mixed emotions, but overwhelming emotion is just happy for him.”
Frazier has spent his entire professional career with the Pirates organization after the club drafted him in the sixth round with the 179th overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft. He was named to the All-Star team for the first time this season.
Frazier had been rumored to be on the trading block for a few weeks now as he is set to become a free agent following next season. Despite the talk of him potentially being moved though, Frazier did not change his demeanor at all, according to Pirates manager Derek Shelton.
“Anytime you’re involved in discussions like that, you can lose your focus,” Shelton said, via Triblive. “The one thing that we’ve never seen Adam Frazier do in the two years that I’ve been here is lose his focus.
“He continues to go out day-in and day-out, give us consistent at-bats, play Gold Glove-caliber second base. Bounced into the outfield and played it well above average when we needed him. I think it just speaks to how focused he is and how he can maintain that.”
Frazier is immediately catapulted from the bottom of the standings in the National League Central to a pennant race in the National League West with the Padres having a 58-44 record in the campaign so far. They are in a three-horse race for the top spot with the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.
It remains to be seen whether the trade will help San Diego make a serious playoff run, but they have to be considered legitimate contenders for the World Series with Frazier added to their starting lineup.
