Clint Frazier designated for assignment by Cubs, won't face Yankees

After seeing old friends Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela in Minnesota, the Yankees were supposed to continue Reunion Week on Friday night with the return of Clint Frazier to Yankee Stadium, but the Chicago Cubs designated Frazier for assignment before the series opener.

Frazier, 27, hit .216 in 37 at-bats in 19 games for the Cubs after getting released by the Yankees in November and signing a one-year, $1.5 million deal. He missed most of the season after undergoing an emergency appendectomy in April.

On the eve of what would’ve been his return, Frazier expressed excitement about seeing some of his former teammates. He also used the conversation with the Chicago Sun-Times to criticize the Yankees’ organization.

‘‘I like it here,’’ he said of Chicago. ‘‘Certainly don’t miss some of the things over there. And I’m really enjoying the way that this clubhouse has maneuvered. It seems like there’s a lot of guys in here that are just accepting of everyone. And it’s been really good for me. And you had to be a cookie-cutter version to be on that team. If not, then you were, like, a really bad distraction, it seemed like. So I don’t miss being told how I had to look for the last five years.’’

He was sporting an orange beard and a nose ring at the time.

When told Frazier liked Chicago, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “I like Chicago, too. Good town.”

Frazier had a contentious time in pinstripes. He went from top prospect to pariah inside his own clubhouse for what was considered immature behavior. Some of his former teammates tried to counsel him, but more often than not, they ended up walking away from the conversations shaking their heads.

Most importantly, Frazier didn’t perform when he was handed the starting leftfield job at the start of last season after a promising 2020. He hit .186 in 66 games in 2021 and missed the second half with a mysterious neurological ailment that the Yankees initially called vertigo but seemed to be related to Frazier’s history of concussions.

‘‘It’ll be good to see some of my former teammates,’’ he told the Sun-Times. ‘‘They’re doing great over there, so I’m excited to see them and catch up with them.’’

He added: ‘‘A lot of it is hard to really look at and understand where it went wrong at times . . . I didn’t play super-consistently a lot in New York. And it’s kind of trending that way here, where I’m having to be ready in the high-leverage situations in the eighth inning, pinch hitting off guys who are throwing 1,000 miles per hour . . . I’ve been feeling really good at the plate. I’m really hoping I can get some more at-bats here soon because I want to play.’’

The Cubs designated Frazier for assignment as part of a flurry of roster moves in which they activated four players off the injured list, including Friday’s starting pitcher, Wade Miley. Chicago also placed former Mets righthander Marcus Stroman on the 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation. He was not scheduled to pitch in the series.

Of Frazier’s time in New York and why it ended up not working out, Boone said: “I think the injury bug got him. Obviously, he had the concussion a couple of years ago. Just had to battle through some different things that didn’t allow him to get on the field as much as he would have liked or we would have liked. When you’re a young player, that can stifle your development or curb your development, certainly. I think that was probably the biggest factor.’’

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.