Sports

Todd Frazier’s message for Yankees, Mets and MLB: I’m worth it

Todd Frazier has a thumbs-down approach to this winter’s Cold Stove free agency. He is going to make the best of a frozen market.

Frazier, who has blasted more home runs (67) over the past two years than Evan Longoria (56) and one fewer than Kris Bryant, doesn’t know where he will wind up, but wherever the free agent lands, Frazier promised Monday he will be the best he ever has been over his seven-year major league career.

Sure, the Little League legend from Toms River, NJ, would love to return to the Yankees, a team he helped get within one game of the World Series, or stay close to home with the Mets, who have a desperate need for a healthy third baseman who also can play first base, but Frazier continues to talk to multiple teams and understands the reality of the game. He will take the best fit for him, wherever that takes him.





“This is a different free-agent year, you see some crazy stuff going on, man,” Frazier told The Post. “I know how good of a player I am. I’m confident in everything I do. No cockiness about it. I believe in myself, and I have believed in myself ever since I was a young kid. Nothing has changed. Nothing will change.”

Frazier posted a .222/.365/.423 slash line in 66 games with the Yankees after coming over from the White Sox in a trade.

“It’s going to be a new, revitalized me,” he said. “I want to prove that I’m worth it. I want to be prepared and be the leader I can be on the field. I know whatever team I do fit with, they’re going to get the best Todd Frazier they are ever going to have because I want to play better. I want to get my average up. I have a lot of goals set for myself. Whenever we figure out what team we are going to go with, it’s going to be a lot of fun because I’m going to get these guys going as much as I am going to get myself going.”





There are any number of teams who could use a strong defender and a durable, run-producing third baseman. Frazier has averaged 154 games over the past five seasons. At some point, the market will open up and teams like the Braves will sign a third baseman.

Strange market, indeed.

“Once we lost that last game to the Astros, I take that flight home, I’m talking to my wife, and I’m like, ‘All right, I’m jobless right now.’ We started laughing together,” Frazier said. “It is what it is. I have the options to do what I want to do, which is great. I would love a multi-year deal, but I am not closing the door on anything. I’m prepared for anything.





“We’ve had contact with the Yankees, my agent, Brodie [Van Wagenen], has done a great job. I love playing for the Yankees. It was such a fun time for me. We just came up short. We had a really good squad, and they are going to be really good again.”

With Giancarlo Stanton pairing with fellow Bronx behemoth Aaron Judge, Frazier said: “They are going to lose 4,000 balls the first half of the year, just on batting practice. They are a lethal squad. The sky is the limit for them.’’

Frazier, who ignited the Yankees’ thumbs-down craze after a win against the Rays at Citi Field, remembered back to a conversation he had with Astros star Jose Altuve during the ALCS, saying: “’Whoever wins this series, wins the whole thing.’ [Altuve] said, ‘Without a doubt.’”





As for the Mets, Frazier confirmed: “That’s another team we’ve had contact with. The communications we’ve had with them has been great, and it has been communications with a lot of teams, not to just pinpoint one or two teams.’’

Frazier would be a perfect fit for the Mets, who need offense, leadership and durability. Frazier’s parents have a home in Florida, not too far from Port St. Lucie.

Back home in Toms River, Frazier said wherever he goes, “The bagel shop for breakfast or whatever, people say to me, ‘Are you a Met yet?’ Or then give me the thumbs down and say, ‘You coming back [to the Yankees]?’

“This is the first real offseason where I am 100 percent healthy, which is great,’’ Frazier added after finishing a multi-faceted workout at Reach Your Potential Training in Tinton Falls, NJ. “Bobby [Smith] does a great job with me here over the last three years and I’ve never felt better.”

Frazier has stayed in touch with some Yankees, inviting shortstop Didi Gregorius to his Toms River New Year’s Eve party.

“Didi said he couldn’t make it. He was in Curacao,” Frazier, who turns 32 next month, said with a smile. “I’m a baseball player. I love helping guys out. I love that part of the game. We are just looking for the right fit.”

Thumbs down to that.





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