The White Sox have signed outfielder Clint Frazier to a minor league contract, per James Fegan of The Athletic. Frazier has been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte. Fegan also relays that the club has signed right-hander Bryan Shaw to a minor league deal. Shaw will report to Arizona before eventually making his way to Charlotte.
Frazier, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Rangers over the winter but didn’t make the club out of Spring Training. He reported to the Triple-A Round Rock Express and got into 15 games but was released earlier this week, reportedly a mutual decision between him and the club. Prior to the release, he walked in 11.7% of his plate appearances but also struck out in 30% of them. His .250/.350/.442 batting line looks solid at first glance but is actually subpar in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, translating to a 91 wRC+.
Frazier was a fifth overall draft pick back in 2013 and a top 100 prospect in the next few seasons but he hasn’t been able to live up to that billing as of yet. He seemed to be cementing himself as a viable big league hitter with the Yankees from 2018 to 2020, hitting .267/.351/.485 in that time for a 123 wRC+. But he struggled badly in 2021, hitting .186/.317/.317 before getting placed on the injured list with vertigo in July. He didn’t return in the second half and was released at the end of the year. He signed with the Cubs last year but was designated for assignment after just 19 games.
He’s now a few years removed from his last really strong showing but there’s no risk for the White Sox in bringing him aboard and seeing if he can get back on track. They have Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Benintendi, Óscar Colás and Eloy Jiménez getting most of the playing time in their outfield and designated hitter mix right now but Colás is hitting just .221/.284/.294 through his first 22 major league games. Frazier will give the club another non-roster depth option alongside Billy Hamilton, Jake Marisnick, Stephen Piscotty and Victor Reyes. Frazier has a little over four years of major league service time, meaning he won’t be able to get to the six-year mark this year. If he happens to get back into a groove and make the club, they could retain him for next year via arbitration because he won’t automatically qualify for free agency.
Shaw, 35, is a veteran who has appeared in each of the past 12 seasons, spending time with Arizona, Cleveland, Colorado and Seattle. He has a career 3.92 ERA in 753 appearances over that span. He signed a minor league deal with the Sox in February but didn’t make the club at the end of Spring Training. He was released at the end of March but now returns to the organization on another deal. Since he’s been out of action for about a month, he’ll go to the club’s facilities in Arizona to get back into game shape before joining the Knights to provide the club with some bullpen depth.