Not everyone on the New York Yankees is excited about the arrival of recently acquired slugger Edwin Encarnacion.
To make room for the designated hitter's arrival, the club optioned outfielder Clint Frazier to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, manager Aaron Boone announced Sunday, according to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic.
Frazier is the victim of a 25-man roster crunch with Encarnacion now in the fold and Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge on the verge of returning.
"Tough pill to swallow," Frazier said following the demotion.
The 24-year-old disclosed he was "pretty surprised" to be sent down.
"This is the reality of things," Frazier told Brendan Kuty of NJ.com when asked what Boone told him. "I guess I’m facing reality right now."
The former fifth overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft landed with the Yankees after the 2016 Andrew Miller deal. Amid rumors New York is looking to trade for pitching help, Frazier acknowledged that anything can happen.
"I got traded once. Who knows. I can’t control that," he said. "I just try to play as good as I can to put myself in a good position."
Frazier is hitting .283/.330/.513 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs in 52 games for New York this season.
