Monday, February 5, 2018

Mets Fill Infield Hole With Todd Frazier

Todd Frazier: 27 HR, .213/.344/.428, 4 SB, 108 wRC+, 3.0 fWAR
Two years, $17 million

The Mets have added Todd Frazier on a two year deal, bringing in the Jersey kid from Toms River to man third base while Asdrubal Cabrera slides to second. Frazier, despite batting .213 in 2017, was much better than you might think, as his .344 on-base percentage was actually a career high and he blasted 27 home runs. Together, it amounted to a 108 wRC+, comfortably above league average and further proving that batting average does not matter. Frazier could also be even better in 2018, considering his .226 BABIP was the second lowest among all qualified hitters in baseball (just behind Rougned Odor's .224). While his .271 career BABIP is quite low (and career BABIP is less indicative of luck than single-season BABIP), he was still incredibly unlucky in 2017, and Statcast tagged him with an xwOBA (expected wOBA based on quality of contact) of .352, plenty higher than his actual mark of .335, so that bounce-back is completely possible. He walks, he hits for power, and his defense isn't half bad either, so $17 million over two years is certainly worthwhile for the Mets. Personally, I think New York could be better than expected in 2018, but that is only if they stay healthy. Frazier joins Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto, and Jay Bruce among established hitters in the Mets' lineup, and young guys like Amed Rosario and Dom Smith could supplement them well. On the mound, there are a lot of question marks, but if everything breaks right, this team could win a Wild Card. For his career, Frazier has 175 home runs, a .245/.321/.459 slash line, and 21.2 fWAR over 938 games.

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