Pirates trade All-Star Adam Frazier to Padres for prospects
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher J.T. Brubaker had to tell the truth Sunday when he heard Adam Frazier was traded to the San Diego Padres for three young prospects.
“I’m happy for the guy. Dude’s an All-Star,” Brubaker said.
Catcher Jacob Stallings didn’t hide from what many players in the Pirates clubhouse were feeling after news of the trade — not yet confirmed by either club — circulated after the 6-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
The Padres now have both starting middle infielders from this month's All-Star Game, and can now trot out a potential infield of:
1B Jake Cronenworth, All-Star
2B Adam Frazier, All-Star
SS Fernando Tatis Jr., All-Star
3B Manny Machado, All-Star— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) July 25, 2021
“Obviously, we’re all excited for him, and he’s excited,” said Stallings, a teammate since 2014 and a workout partner.
But the other unavoidable truth: “It stinks for us,” Stallings said. “He’s obviously set the tone at the top of our lineup all year and just had an amazing, amazing year. So it’s mixed emotions, but overwhelming emotion is just happy for him.”
The Pirates traded Frazier, who was the starting second baseman in the All-Star Game earlier this month, while he is in the midst of the National League batting race, standing second (.324) to Nick Castellanos of the Cincinnati Reds but leading the majors in hits (125).
It marked the second time the Pirates have traded an All-Star second baseman in midseason. Freddy Sanchez was sent to the Giants in 2009.
Frazier started the game and was 0 for 4 before he left in the eighth inning, replaced by Wilmer Difo. Manager Derek Shelton declined to the confirm the trade but said Frazier was pulled “out of an abundance of caution because there are some things that are possibly going down.”
The Pirates, under second-year general manager Ben Cherington, are in the midst of a massive teardown of their roster to rebuild it with young prospects. Frazier is the fourth veteran traded under Cherington, following deals that sent All-Star first baseman Josh Bell and pitchers Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon out of town. Frazier is joining Musgrove, now a starting pitcher for the Padres.
Frazier is only the third player in the modern era traded midseason while leading the majors in hits, joining Willie McGee (St. Louis Cardinals to Oakland A’s in 1990) and Red Schoendienst (Giants to the Milwaukee Braves in 1957).
The Padres are sending three young prospects to the Pirates: infielder/outfielder Tucupita Marcano, Double-A outfielder Jack Suwinski and Single-A relief pitcher Michell Miliano, according to a source. The Pirates also sent $1.4 million to the Padres to gain access to better prospects, according to the source.
Marcano, 21, was rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 5 prospect in the Padres system and was called up to the majors this season, slashing .182/.280/.205 in 25 games with three RBIs for the Padres. He has played second base, third base and both corner outfield positions this season.
Suwinski, 22, has 15 home runs with 37 RBIs while slashing .269/ .398/.551 for Double-A San Antonio. He was the Padres’ 15th-round draft choice in 2016.
Miliano, 21, has pitched this season for two Single-A Padres farm clubs — Fort Wayne and Lake Elsinore — while displaying an effective strikeout pitch. In 30 innings, the right-hander has struck out 59 and walked 25, with a 2-2 record and 3.60 ERA.
Frazier, the franchise’s sixth-round draft choice in 2013 from Mississippi State, has been with the Pirates since 2016, starting 312 games at second base in the past four seasons. He also has played outfield.
Frazier goes from the last-place Pirates to a pennant race in the NL West. The Padres (58-44) are in third place in the division, 5 1⁄2 games behind the first-place Giants.
“It’s much-deserved for him,” Brubaker said. “He seems to be on base every time he comes to the plate.”
“It’s just all the hard work that he’s put in coming up through the Pirates organization and up here in Pittsburgh.
“He’s going to go out there and just continue to do the same thing. He’s going to be the same person no matter what. Yeah, gonna give it his all, and that’s who Adam Frazier is.”
Shelton said Frazier has not changed his demeanor or approach while trade rumors followed him.
“Anytime you’re involved in discussions like that, you can lose your focus,” Shelton said. “The one thing that we’ve never seen Adam Frazier do in the two years that I’ve been here is lose his focus.
“He continues to go out day-in and day-out, give us consistent at-bats, play Gold Glove-caliber second base. Bounced into the outfield and played it well above average when we needed him. I think it just speaks to how focused he is and how he can maintain that.”
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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