Yankees place Clint Frazier on 10-day IL with vertigo, activate Tim Locastro

The 2021 season has been about as tough for Clint Frazier as imaginable. After appearing to break out in an encouraging 2020 (.267/.394/.511 with a 149 OPS+ in 39 games), Frazier got the Opening Day nod in left field, had a good opening salvo against the Blue Jays ... and has done essentially nothing since then. There have been big hits here and there, but the .186/.317/.317 triple slash in 66 games is unfortunately a fair assessment.

As hard as it is to fathom, Frazier’s year just got worse. He exited Wednesday night’s game against the Angels in the third inning due to dizziness, and prior to the Yankees’ Friday matchup with the Mets, the team placed him on the 10-day injured list. Manager Aaron Boone described Frazier’s diagnosis as “vertigo,” but he’s also still undergoing “a battery of tests.” To replace him on the roster, the Yankees activated speedy outfielder Tim Locastro, who they acquired yesterday from the Arizona Diamondbacks (though Locastro will not start Friday).

This development is quite concerning. Head injuries have sadly been a familiar part of Frazier’s career and anyone who has suffered from concussions or vertigo itself knows how tricky they can be to handle. Frazier’s 2018 in particular was marred by multiple concussion-related IL stints; that year, he was limited to just 63 games between the majors and Triple-A Scranton. The Yankees will understandably let Frazier take his time as he tries to find a solution to the problem. It probably will not be a quick fix.