Clint Frazier to Aaron Boone: 'Look at me, I can be centerfield'

DETROIT — Almost from the time he joined the Yankees’ organization, Clint Frazier has talked glowingly of the considerable amount of time he spent in centerfield on his climb through the minors to the big leagues and of his desire to again get some chances there in the majors.

That opportunity presented itself one time previously, at the Stadium on June 21, 2018, when Frazier started in center in a 4-3 victory over the Mariners (he went 2-for-4 with a run and handled the one ball hit his way).

Frazier hasn’t manned center since, but indications are he’ll get another crack at it — and perhaps more than just one — sooner rather than later.

With Aaron Hicks making the decision last week to have surgery to repair a tendon sheath tear in his left wrist and 37-year-old Brett Gardner now the everyday centerfielder but in need of an occasional day off, Aaron Boone’s options are limited.

Hence, potentially a small handful of opportunities out there for Frazier.

"I'm excited," Frazier said late Tuesday night after going 2-for-4 with a double in the Yankees’ 6-2 loss to the Blue Jays. "Hopefully I get a chance to go out there and play good D."

That chance hasn’t occurred to this point — Frazier started in left and batted seventh Friday night against the Tigers — but given the state of the outfield, it still would seem only a matter of time.

If so, Frazier points out, it's right in his comfort zone.

"I'm going to have to go out there and continue to get reps, but centerfield for me is a position I still think to this date is the most-played position in my career down in the minor leagues, and in the lower levels before that, [so] I'm excited," said Frazier, who patrolled centerfield in 293 of his career games in the minors (he started in leftfield the second-most times, 151 games). "Obviously, Gardy, he's going to need to get a day off here pretty soon."

With a smile, Frazier recalled instances over the years in which he prodded Boone, who became manager in 2018, about giving him another shot in center and a recent clubhouse conversation with the manager.

"I’ve joked [before about playing center], and Boonie came right up to me [Tuesday] when I was tying my shoe in the locker room, and I looked up at him and I was like, ‘Centerfield, huh?’ " Frazier said. "And he was like, ‘Yeah.’ So I felt like that was coming."

Said Boone: "[Frazier] has the athleticism to go out there [in center]. I think he would relish it, I know he will. He’ll work out there a little bit in some of his pregame work and at some point, we’ll likely see it."

When it comes to Frazier, the conversation far more often than not revolves around his bat.

Though he came into Friday night hitting .174 with four homers and a .600 OPS in 41 games this season, there have been recent signs of a turnaround. He entered Friday hitting .318 with one homer and an .818 OPS in his previous seven games.

Frazier, who always describes himself as a "feel hitter," likes the way he’s feeling in the batter’s box.

"Obviously, the last few games, I’ve swung it a little bit better," he said earlier in the week. "I'm hitting it a lot harder right now, and for me, it's about the confidence and believing in what I'm doing and going up there every single at-bat knowing that what I'm doing right now I believe in. Obviously, I’ve got to keep it going."

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.