White Sox signed midfielder Clint Frazier to a minor league contract, each The Athletic’s James Fegan. Frazier was assigned to Triple-A Charlotte. Fegan also forward that the club signed a right-handed contract Bryan Shaw to a minor league deal. Shaw will report to Arizona before leaving for Charlotte.
Frazier, 28, signed a minor league deal with Rangers over the winter but did not cause the club to miss spring training. He reported to the Triple-A Round Rock Express and participated in 15 games but was release earlier this week, supposedly a joint decision between him and the club. Prior to his release, he participated in 11.7% of his disc appearances but also appeared in 30% of them. His .250/.350/.442 hit line looks solid at first glance but is actually below average in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, translating to 91 wRC+.
Frazier was the fifth overall draft pick back in 2013 and a top 100 prospect for the next few seasons but he has yet to meet that payout. He seems to be cementing himself as a viable major league player with the Yankees from 2018 to 2020, scoring 0.267/.351/.485 in that time with 123 wRC+. But he struggled badly in 2021, scoring .186/.317/.317 before being included on the vertigo injury list in July. He did not return for the second half and was released at the end of the year. He signed for the Cubs last year but was assigned a transfer after just 19 games.
He’s now several years away from his last really strong showing but the White Sox wouldn’t take the risk to get him on board and see if he can get back on track. They have Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Benintendi, Oscar Colás And Eloy Jiménez spend most of their time in their outfield and designated hitter combinations now but Colás has only scored 0.221/.284/.294 in his first 22 big games. Frazier will give the club another unlisted depth option along with Billy Hamilton, Jake Marisnick, Stephen Piscott And Victor Reyes. Frazier has more than four years of major league service left, meaning he won’t be able to hit the six-year mark this year. If he happens to come back and form the club, they could keep him for next year through arbitration as he won’t automatically qualify for free representation.
Shaw, 35, is a veteran who has appeared in the past 12 seasons, spending time with Arizona, Cleveland, Colorado and Seattle. He has a 3.92 career ERA in 753 appearances in that span. He signed a minor league contract with the Sox in February but did not join the club at the end of Spring Training. He was released at the end of March but has now returned to the organization under a different arrangement. Since he has been inactive for about a month, he will be heading to the club’s facilities in Arizona to get back in shape before joining the Knights to give the club some insight into the game. bullpen.
