Clint Frazier
AP Photo/Fred Thornhill

Clint Frazier knows improvement must be in his future now that the New York Yankees have optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

When the New York Yankees optioned outfielder Clint Frazier to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday, it was much to his surprise. Frazier felt he had done a lot to help the ballclub in the 53 games he played for them.

However, this is the reality of it, and now Frazier will play his first game for the RailRiders on Thursday night. Frazier reported to the club on Wednesday, however, didn’t play.

When speaking on his role for the Yankees, Frazier told James Kratch of nj.com that he “didn’t want to be a 24-year-old DH. DH is fun and all, but I want to use my legs while I still have them.”

Despite batting .283 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs, Frazier had some problems in the field for the Bombers. Having spent the majority of games in right field, Frazier managed to commit three errors from that position.

“I’m not a bad outfielder,” Frazier said. “I just went through a couple of bad skids up there. I’m happy to come down here with a great group of coaches who are obviously going to make this an easier transition than it could have been. … There’s room for a lot of improvement out there that I have to make up for.”

One thing that’ll be beneficial for Fraizer in Scranton is that he’ll be playing mostly left field. It’s a spot where Frazier feels more comfortable. Frazier committed zero errors in 11 games as a left fielder for the Yankees. However, he still feels like center field is where he belongs.

“It’s a little bit easier for me to maneuver that,” Frazier said. “I like playing center field because I’m going to have the ability to call off guys and be more comfortable out there. Maybe at times I got a little tentative whenever someone else was calling me off. Because one, I’m trying not to run into anybody and two, I’m trying to let the center fielder be the center fielder. It’ll be fun.”

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Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.