MLB free agency: 2019/2020 FAs that should be moved
By Bill Felber
Todd Frazier
If you believe the New York Mets are going to contend in 2019, then strongly consider holding on to a slowing 33-year-old third baseman who strikes out every fifth at bat and who hasn’t hit above .230 since 2015.
If you are functioning within the realm of the level-headed, then take advantage of Todd Frazier’s reputation for power – he did, after all, hit 18 home runs in 2018 – to get what you can for him now.
Brody Van Wagenen, who presumably was hired as general manager to operate in the real world, should make moving Frazier for prospects a top priority.
The Mets enter 2019 with a quality rotation presumably featuring Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, and Stephen Matz, although rumors continue to circulate that they may move Syndergaard. Their every-day lineup, however, Is not as imposing, and the record shows they have 13 games to make up on the division-winning Braves, who are both younger and more talented than New York.
The urgency to deal Frazier is only intensified by the fact that the cost of keeping him is $9 million next year.
Moving Frazier has the side benefit of giving the Mets options in the use of Jeff McNeil, New York’s prize 2018 rookie, who may be a better fit there than at second base, where he spent most of his first season.