Shortly before the July trade deadline the Padres sent a trio of young players to Pittsburgh for infielder Adam Frazier, an All-Star who was leading the National League in hits and batting average.
Frazier's numbers plummeted in San Diego and with an infield full of guys fighting for playing time ... and the need to trim some salary ... the Friars are moving on. San Diego sent Frazier to Seattle for two prospects, LHP Ray Kerr and OF Corey Rosier.
The Padres got just 57 games out of Frazier, who produced one home run, 11 RBI and a .662 OPS. He's scheduled to make a little more than $7 million in his final year of arbitration and the Friars need to shed some payroll to make the kinds of moves they need to this off-season.
It's likely that this deal means the Friars are looking to Ha-Seong Kim (who played brilliantly in the field but mostly struggled at the plate in his first year in American baseball) or top prospect C.J. Abrams to handle 2nd base duties in 2022 and beyond.
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That's assuming, of course, that Jake Cronenworth (an All-Star at 2nd base in 2021) moves into a more permanent role at 1st base if general manager A.J. Preller can pull off a deal that sends Eric Hosmer out of town.
Their return includes a couple of guys who have shown serious ability in a short time. Kerr, 27, is a reliever who routinely topped 100 MPH with his fastball. Over 39.2 innings between AA and AAA last season he struck out 60 with 16 walks and a .184 opponents batting average. He'll likely be in the San Diego bullpen out of Spring Training.
Rosier was a 12th-round pick out of UNC-Greensboro in this year's draft. The left-handed hitting outfielder went right to the Low-A California League and lit it up, hitting .390 with three home runs, eight doubles, three triples, and a 1.046 OPS in 31 games with the Modesto Nuts.
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This is the first, but certainly not the last big move Preller will be involved with this off-season.
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