Orioles sign Adam Frazier

[interloper]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

How is banning the shift going to help a 31 year old second baseman?

I just meant it would be easier to hit singles into RF as a lefty. Mostly joking though. 

Edited December 15, 2022 by interloper

[eddie83]

1 minute ago, interloper said:

Maybe the shift ban helps??? lol 

In all seriousness I did think about that. He does not K much. Perhaps analytics department sees a BA increase that is worthwhile. 

[E-D-D-I-E]

3 minutes ago, interloper said:

All due to respect to Odor, who was fun, Frazier is unquestionably the better player. Just based on versatility alone, it's a better use of a roster spot. 

 

True he is. However, that money certainly had more use in other areas, than a "keep it warm" second-basemen. Reality is, one of the kids is going to step up and take this spot. At least, we certainly need to hope for that. 

Got to hope for a big trade to acquire a pitcher, that includes Westburg. 

All I want for xmas is one of Corbin Burnes/Brandon Woodruff. Dreams are free.

 

[interloper]

1 minute ago, Just Regular said:

One other character Frazier might parallel in the re-iteration of old Astros roster construction....Nori Aoki.

During their growth years, one offseason there was a purposeful move to low strikeout hitters.     Adam Frazier's contact to damage ratio is very weak, but he is a very good contact hitter.

Well that would be the opposite of Odor for sure, who was very whiffy. 

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, interloper said:

I just meant it would be easier to hit singles into RF as a lefty. Mostly joking though. 

I know, I was just chatting back.

I think most folks are overestimating the impact that the restrictions on shifting are going to have.

[eddie83]

Clearly sprays the ball all over. 
 

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/adam-frazier/15223/spray-charts?position=2B/OF&type=battedball

[Moose Milligan]

God this is stupid. Signing a middle infielder for 8 million with Gunnar, Urias, Mateo and Westburg and Ortiz on the horizon is so dumb. 

18 million for Gibson and Frazier, could have just spent it on Bassitt or Walker. Unreal. 

[jcaponio]

I bet that, assuming no trades, Frazier and Hays get the bulk of the starts at the corner outfield spots and Santander is now relegated to DH-only. As he should be. I don’t think Frazier blocks anybody in the infield. 

Edited December 15, 2022 by jcaponio

[Yardball85]

3 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

God this is stupid. Signing a middle infielder for 8 million with Gunnar, Urias, Mateo and Westburg and Ortiz on the horizon is so dumb. 

18 million for Gibson and Frazier, could have just spent it on Bassitt or Walker. Unreal. 

Agreed.  Just remarkable how awful this team is at allocating resources in free agency.  

[DrinkinWithFermi]

4 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Assuming he earns his way onto the roster.

Elias has said GrayRod will probably start the year in the big league rotation, but it might not be so bad if he reverses course on that too and holds him down until July so we don't end up wasting a full year of service time on a punt year.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

Orioles finally sign a free agent!

After finding out who it is:

[HakunaSakata]

7 minutes ago, interloper said:

Maybe the shift ban helps??? lol 

Maybe. On the plus side, there's a 1% chance he'll make this his walk-up music.

[eddie83]

3 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

God this is stupid. Signing a middle infielder for 8 million with Gunnar, Urias, Mateo and Westburg and Ortiz on the horizon is so dumb. 

18 million for Gibson and Frazier, could have just spent it on Bassitt or Walker. Unreal. 

It’s a one year deal. Those would be multi year. I don’t like the lack of SP upgrade but I don’t think there is a correlation here. 

[Moose Milligan]

1 minute ago, eddie83 said:

It’s a one year deal. Those would be multi year. I don’t like the lack of SP upgrade but I don’t think there is a correlation here. 

If they can spend 18 this year there’s no reason they can’t spend another 18 next year. 

[btdart20]

All jokes (and contracts) aside...

Weak EV and Barrel%. I would have thought the lefty bat would play up in OPACY, but his xHR at OPACY is negligible.

However, the great K% and xBA consistently higher top 75ish% means he gets the bat on the ball consistently well.  Babip of .268 was lower than career and MLB norms.  Solid LD%.  

His stats are inconsistent from year to year.  Steamer has him for a .264/.326/.370 for 2023.  I bet that's a little low on the OBP but reasonable.

He played almost 200 innings in the OF last year.

 

From an org build perspective:  

Agree with the Vavra comps and doubt that Vavra makes OD.  Maybe Frazier has something to teach the org or a guy like Vavra?  With the way the team values hitting metrics...

How many OFers do we have at AAA now if Vavra is sent down?

I'd bet there is a second transaction related to this type of move.

Is it too early to consider that LH 2Bs may have value at the trade deadline?