Todd Frazier has joined the pennant race.

The Toms River slugger was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the New York Yankees Tuesday night according to reports, ending several weeks of trade rumors. Frazier was a healthy scratch from the White Sox lineup, the first indication that a deal was imminent.

In addition to Frazier, a former All-Star third baseman with the Cincinnati Reds, the Yankees acquired closer David Robertson and right-hander Tommy Kahnle.

Frazier, expected to be used at first base by the Yankees, was seen hugging his teammates during pregame warm ups, and spoke with reporters prior to the game about his situation.

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“Sure. It’s your livelihood,’’ Frazier said to the Chicago Sun Times prior to the game. “It’s just like going out there playing. You don’t get any hits, it’s like what do I have to do to improve. I’ve got to figure something out. It’s just like being traded. You don’t know who is watching. They say there are scouts there. They say people are wondering what’s going on.’’

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As rumors swirled in recent days, it appeared the Boston Red Sox, in first place in the American League East, had the upper hand in negotiations to acquire Frazier. The Yankees are in third place in the AL East standings, 3.5 games behind the Red Sox.

Frazier was hitting .207 with 16 home runs and 44 RBI before Tuesday night. He got off to a slow start and missed some time early in the season with an illness. He has nine homers, eight doubles and was hitting .234 over the last 37 games.

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He was in his second season with the White Sox after being by the Cincinnati Reds after the 2015 season. He spent five seasons with the Reds, who drafted him in the supplemental portion of the first round in 2007.

Frazier hit 40 home runs last season and 35 in 2015. He won Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby at the 2015 All-Star game in Cincinnati in 2015, when he was the starting third baseman for the National League, and was second in the Home Run Derby at last year’s All-Star game in San Diego.

He is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

During his scholastic career, Frazier led Toms River South to consecutive NJSIAA Group III championships in 2002 and 2003. Frazier was the Big East Player of the Year in 2007,and 42 career homers are the most in Rutgers’ history.

He first burst on the baseball scene in 1998 when he led Toms River East American to the Little League World Series Championship.

Wire services contributed to this report



