Are Clint Frazier's struggles in the outfielder mental?
That was one theory floated by WFAN's Gregg Giannotti after the Yankees outfielder's defensive lapses cost the Yankees dearly in an 8-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.
"Clint Frazier has been a really, really nice player for the Yankees in this stretch where they needed some offense, they needed a guy to step up and be an everyday player, but there's something going on outside of just him not being used to right field. ... He's just a mess out there," Giannotti said on Monday's "Boomer and Gio" show. "Whether it's the crashing-into-the-wall stuff or the fact that he's just on a big stage now, whatever it is, but it seems mental to me what's going on out there with Clint Frazier in the outfield."
In the top of the seventh inning with the Yankees trailing 3-2, Frazier allowed Eduardo Nunez's single to right field get by him, allowing Michael Chavis to score from first base. In the eighth inning, Frazier had trouble with Chavis' pop-fly near the first-base line, which ended up as a triple that scored Rafael Devers.
Sandwiched in between those two miscues was Frazier's unsuccessful dive for an Andrew Benintendi line drive that scored another run in the seventh.
"The fielding concerns around Clint Frazier are just getting worse and worse and worse and wore and worse," said Boomer Esiason, Giannotti's co-host. "The kid has been in the middle of a lot of this. He has been one of the reasons why they are winning. You want to give him a pass. He's not a true right fielder. I feel like he's better in left field. I don't know what it is. Some of these things are routine decisions and routine plays that he's just not making. He's not reading the ball off the bat right, it looks like to me.
"What you don't want it to do is you don't want it to impact him at the plate. And hopefully he can figure it out."
So far, that has not been the case. Frazier is hitting .272 with 10 homers and 28 RBIs. He was 2-for-4 Sunday.
The 24-year-old Yankee did not speak to reporters following the game.
"I'll give him a pass this time to say, 'Hey, just don't do that again,' because he's still learning," said Giannotti, who said he found it somewhat annoying that Frazier dodged questions about play.
"Just always show up and just be accountable," Esiason added. "That's all."
To listen to the open from Tuesday's show, click on the audio player above.
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