Where will Adam Frazier’s at bats come from now?

Many people were looking forward to seeing what Adam Frazier could do in a possible every day role for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018.

But with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ acquisition of 2017 All-Star Corey Dickerson, it currently leaves Frazier without an everyday job.

Things can change between now and Opening Day as Josh Harrison hasn’t backed off his offseason trade demand. But as things stand now, Frazier is the odd-man out in terms of the starting lineup.

That begs the question of how Clint Hurdle plans to get Frazier enough at bats during the season.

Super Sub

With Frazier moving to the bench for now, he likely moves into the super-sub role that the Pirates often have.

He will get time at second base and in the outfield, but Hurdle is going to have to get Frazier his at bats, which really shouldn’t be a problem.

Frazier finished the 2017 season hitting .276/.344/.399. A mid-season slump brought his overall numbers down, but Frazier rebounded nicely by slashing 304/.360/.462 during the second half of the season.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Frazier did well against RHP last season with a .271/.343/.411 line, but also hit LHP well to the tune of .304/.355/.321.[/perfectpullquote]

Hurdle doesn’t have to hide Frazier against lefties, so he should be good to go no matter who is on the mound.

The only problem is that Sean Rodriguez is going to fill the exact same role as Frazier, so it may be harder than one may think to get Frazier enough at bats the way the roster is constructed right now.

Many feel Frazier could be a .300 hitter in the big leagues. If that is the case, then he needs ample playing time.

For right now, he helps make the Pirates’ bench stronger, which is a plus.

Injuries

With a lineup void of a lot of power, Dickerson is the everyday left fielder, no questions asked.

But both Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco are injury prone, so the injury bug could push Frazier into an everyday role even if he isn’t penciled in for one today.

His versatility should make him the first guy off the bench if injuries do happen.

Harrison trade

The Pittsburgh Pirates like Frazier a lot.

They’ve come out and said so.

With the outfield now set in stone, the easiest way to get Frazier’s bat into the lineup is to deal Harrison.

That kills two birds with one stone.

You get the guy you want in the lineup and get the guy that doesn’t want to be here out of here.

Neal Huntington can still get a future asset or two for Harrison so now that some free agents are starting to sign across the league, it’s possible that Huntington explores moving Harrison again.

Harrison will be traded, opening a likely everyday role for Frazier at second base.  It’s just a matter of whether that trade happens in March or July.