Royals sign Adam Frazier


Kansas City has been adding pieces at a rapid rate this offseason and most surprising has been their pitching acquisitions. The infield for the most part is set except for one position. Second base had been a question mark for fans in Kansas City, but the Royals answered the doubters by signing former Orioles second baseman Adam Frazier. Frazier joins Kansas City on a one-year deal $2 million with an $8.5 million mutual option for 2025.The option includes a $2.5 million buyout which makes the full deal worth a guaranteed $4.5 million. What does Frazier bring to the table for the Royals? In my opinion, Frazier has had a pretty solid career up to this point. Last season the Orioles signed the veteran infielder to a one-year deal worth $8 million. With Baltimore, the 32-year-old had a career year. Frazier played in a total of 141 games in an Orioles jersey with 130 games at second and 10 in the outfield and one game likely as a replacement due to an injury or a late inning substitute. In 141 games, the infielder was able to make good contact with the ball. Contact unfortunately doesn't always lead to hits. Baseball can be a cruel game. The left-hander's batting line was a  .240. Frazier's stats are better than what his batting average shows in my opinion. While in an O's uniform the infielder hit 13 homers with  60 runs batted in. The Orioles have multiple young infielders heading into next season leaving Frazier as the odd man out. And Frazier was the second most expensive player on their roster behind starter Kyle Gibson who signed a one-year deal worth $10 million. According to an article by Brad Wakai: " The Orioles have multiple options on their current MLB roster and in their pipeline that could replace Frazier for a much cheaper price." Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun said the same thing about O's depth of young players to replace Frazier: ""It’s time for the club’s stockpile of young players to fully take over the Orioles’ infield." The Royals are in a similar situation as the Orioles when it comes to young infielders. Both Michael Massey and Nick Loftin saw time at second base last season. Massey in my opinion didn't do too bad last season. The 25-year-old played in 129 games and showed some pop in his bat with 15 home runs and 55 RBI's. Unfortunately, Massey struck out 99 times, but he was able to put the ball in play with 98 hits resulting in a .229 batting average. Massey's defense was a big struggle last year, and it definitely showed in games. Loftin on the other hand didn't get a long enough look at second base with Massey getting the majority of the playing time. The infielder played in only 19 games with 68 plate appearances. Loftin batted .323 with only 10 runs batted in. With Loftin only playing in 19 games, I think the Royals should give him a longer look. I'm not saying the team will move on from either player, it's just a possibility. Unfortunately the front office seems to lack patience with player development, especially hitters. Don't be shocked if they trade either Loftin or Massey in the near future. To be fair, the Royals played some of their worst baseball in franchise history. I would make major changes the following offseason too. The Royals certainly did that on both the pitching and the hitting. The Royals didn't make it exactly clear whether or not Frazier is the team's everyday second baseman, but it seems unlikely that the team will just let his salary be wasted on the bench after signing a one year deal worth $8 million and Garrett Hampson guaranteed at least a utility player role. Finally, my expectations for the new addition for the Royals are pretty high and why shouldn't they be. Frazier has proven throughout his career that he can handle second base on a daily basis playing a combined 297 games the last two seasons between the Mariners and the Orioles. The addition of Frazier could be the final piece to the Royals offense allowing KC to put a competitive lineup on the field everyday and giving the pitching staff a chance to win with good run support. 


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