Veterans to Provide Depth
While Juan Lopez’s recent kneecapping has most YS9 fans searching for Blaine Tyler, the club's front office has quietly gone about their business. Most recently by giving veteran infielder Bob Frazier some walking around cash to sigh a minor league contract. He’ll be assigned to AAA Indianapolis to work out some kinks, then be generally around in case he’s needed.
"Call me Swiss Army knife, right?" Frazier said to assistant GM Jose Cabrerra during the announcement. "I'll just sit there in your pocket until you need me."
“Bob is like having another coach in the dugout,” Cabrerra later said. “And he's a solid guy. He could probably be adding value to lots of teams right now. The kind of guy you just want in your organization.”
Frazier debuted with the Nine and played with the team from 2036-2038 before being traded to Louisville for current center fielder Abdeljillil Sediki. He was also embroiled in the notorious Tobias Wulms trade kerfluffle. On his career he’s hit 91 big league homers. Insiders say he’ll play around the infield at AAA, probably focusing at third base when Tyler is promoted.
"Reminds me of old times," Frazier said as he donned a Yellow Springs hat. "Fits a lot better than a Louisville cap, that's for sure. No grease."
ALLEN JOINS FRAZIER
In the same press release, the team also noted they’ve added ex-Tropic outfielder Benton Allen to their Indianapolis ball club. The 29-year-old RHB outfielder is expected to serve as injury backup in case either Luis Costello or Grant Lee get dinged up (as Costello did last year). The move was made necessary by the apparent disintegration of Jim Des Jardien as an actual prospect.
Allen, known for being a shade on the moody side, did not want to be interviewed for this piece, but his representative said he’s happy to be back in the game, and is looking forward to playing in Utopia Field.