Veteran Frazier Brings Leadership to Young Bucs

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a lot of young talent entering the 2021 season, but no one very experienced to lead the group. The Pirates added one of those wily veterans yesterday when they went out and signed infielder Todd Frazier to a Minor League deal.

The theme of the 2021 Pittsburgh Pirates surrounds building a core for the next winning Pittsburgh Pirates squad. Because of this, the Pirates feature a lot of young talent that are trying to cut their teeth at the Major League level. While these players possess a lot of talent, it is unproven talent and many of these players are going through their first MLB seasons. However the Pirates really had no proven talent on the team to help lead the young guys. The Pirates addressed that issue yesterday when they ended up signing Todd Frazier to a Minor League deal with an invite to Major League Spring Training. The deal will end up being worth 1.25 million dollars if Frazier makes the Big League club.

Last season, Frazier split his time between the Texas Rangers and the New York Mets and appeared in 45 games hitting .238 with four home runs and 12 RBI. Frazier is a long wayy removed from the days of being a National League all-star and winning the home run derby, but his experience can help this young team as they develop at the Major League level. Frazier has played first base and third base in his career, and brings 11 seasons of MLB experience with him. If he performs well he can be a candidate to flip at the trade deadline, and if not, he serves as a mentor to the young guys with no real loss. Today. We look at Frazier's last couple of seasons and see what he can bring to the 2021 Pirates.

Adding Experience to the Pirates

Todd Frazier is a guy the Pittsburgh Pirates have seen a lot of over the years, just on the wrong side of the field. He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2004, but began his career in 2011 with the Cincinnati Reds. He played for five seasons in Cincinnati and ended up hitting .257 with 108 home runs and 324 RBI over 633 games played. He always showed good power potential and used that power to rise to stardom. In 2014, Frazier broke out hitting .273 with 29 home runs and 80 RBI while making his first all-star game. He followed that in 2025, with another career year where he hit .255 with 35 home runs and 89 RBI. He went on to make the all-star game for the second year in a row and won the Home Run derby that same year.

However, despite his success, the Reds traded Frazier to the Chicago White Sox in a three-team deal. Frazier would put together his biggest power season of his career, but his batting average took a big toll. He hit 40 home runs and drove in 98 RBI, but he only managed to hit .225 and struck out 163 times. Frazier would spend the next three seasons with the New York Mets, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers. He never truly found the success he had in the past. He hit 20+ home runs once in those three seasons and never had a batting average over the .255 mark. One place he has always had success is at PNC Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team he hit more home runs against than any other team in his career.

The park that he loves hitting at the most is PNC Park, which should benefit the Pirates now that he is on their side. In 39 career games at PNC Park, Frazier has a .307 average with eight home runs and 23 RBI. As a right-hander, he doesn't have the luxury of the short porch in right being on his pull side, but he countered that by using the north side notch, and the big gaps throughout PNC Park. He has 19 total extra-base hits in those 39 games and was driving in runs at a high rate. Now that he is wearing the Black and Gold, he is hoping to continue that success as he helps the Pirates grow and the young guys become full-time Major League players.

Frazier in Black and Gold

The signing of Frazier brings some veteran leadership to the Pirates that they desperately needed. With so much young, unproven talent on the team, they had really no one to show them how to be true everyday Major Leaguers. With the addition of Frazier, they now have someone who has been through the trials and tribulations of a long season and can do what is necessary to win games. With the Pirates having no one besides Phillip Evans and Colin Moran to play first base, Frazier brings some experience at the position, and can serve as a platoon mate with Moran as he gets more experience there.

On the other hand, Frazier is also a guy who can be flipped for prospects at the trade deadline to continue the rebuild. Frazier is a guy with some proven pop in his bat, and that power could become essential to a team down the stretch. He was a former home run derby champion back in 2016, and while he may have lost some of that power over the years, he still continues to hit double digit home runs night in and night out. I like the signing of Frazier as if he makes the team, he is an asset the Pirates can use to lead their young guys. However, if he doesn't make the team the Pirates don't lose anything. He is a nice veteran piece that can add some power to the lineup and help the Pirates young guys as they develop for the future.

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