Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Designate Clint Frazier, Rougned Odor, Tyler Wade For Assignment

The Yankees also traded Nick Nelson and Donny Sands on Friday, freeing up room for five new faces on the 40-man roster

Max Goodman

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Yankees cut ties with four big-league players on Friday.

New York designated outfielder Clint Frazier, infielder Rougned Odor and utility man Tyler Wade for assignment. 

Those three moves were announced by the team shortly after the Yankees revealed they had traded right-hander Nick Nelson and catching prospect Donny Sands to the Phillies for two minor leaguers.

Friday's flurry of activity freed up space for infielder Oswaldo Cabrera, right-hander Ron Marinaccio, outfielder Everson Pereira, right-hander Stephen Ridings and left-hander JP Sears to be added to the Major League roster.

Moves needed to be made prior to 6 p.m. ET, a deadline to make important choices regarding 40-man rosters, protecting certain prospects from next month's Rule 5 Draft. Now, those five players don't have to worry about being selected when the draft takes place during December's Winter Meetings.

Frazier is the most notable subtraction of the bunch. An outfielder that has fallen from grace since he was New York's No. 2 prospect (when he was acquired in the Andrew Miller trade with Cleveland in 2016).

Since then, he struggled every year to secure playing time. It wasn't until this spring when Frazier was officially named a starting outfielder. That didn't last long, though. After posting some disappointing numbers, his season abruptly came to a close when he exited a game with feelings of dizziness in late  early July. 

Initially placed on the injured list with vertigo, the outfielder's exact diagnosis was never revealed. The 27-year-old has since hinted on social media that one day he would tell the truth about what transpired this season. Frazier has also battled concussion issues in the past, contributing to his lengthy journey to earn a consistent role in pinstripes.

Meanwhile, New York's depth in the infield took a hit with the departures of Odor and Wade. Odor was picked up by the Yankees early in the season from the Rangers, slashing .202/.286/.379 with 15 homers over 102 games. He didn't exactly rake, but Odor was beloved in the clubhouse, cheering for his teammates in the dugout and routinely joining in on in-game mound visits. 

Wade was New York's quickest and most versatile asset off the bench, playing in 103 games and making an impact in more ways than one. 

By picking Frazier, Odor and Wade to be DFA'd, the Yankees elected to hold on to players like Luke Voit, Miguel Andújar and Chris Gittens that are on the 40-man roster, but have uncertain futures with the big-league club.   

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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