ATLANTA — Over in The Bronx, Neil Walker looks more out of rhythm than Elaine dancing on “Seinfeld,” and right here with the Mets, Jose Reyes has raised early concerns about an expiration date. The Pirates’ Josh Harrison (fractured bone in left hand) will be inactive until June, probably.
Here at SunTrust Park on Thursday? Todd Frazier’s biggest concern was getting rid of a pepper grinder with bad juju.
Frazier doesn’t quite qualify as the last man standing from a pool of talent the Mets contemplated when the free-agent market hit a serious lull, as another ex-Yankee, the Red Sox’s Eduardo Nunez, has been performing adequately. Yet the Garden State Jester ranks as the best of that bunch so far, rewarding the Mets for their faith and penalizing those who didn’t pursue him with his high-energy burst out of the gate.
“It was frustrating this offseason. It wasn’t fun at all,” Frazier told The Post before the Mets opened a four-game series with the Braves. “It’s a small sample size for this year, but I said before the season, they’re going to get the best Todd Frazier they’ve ever gotten this year.
“Is it something to prove? Of course. You always have something to prove every year. For me, I feel pretty good about where I’m at right now.”
Said Mets manager Mickey Callaway, who as Indians pitching coach saw Frazier often as he bounced from the Reds to the White Sox to the Yankees: “You see him out there during batting practice, always jumping around and bringing energy. I didn’t know it was quite to the extent that it is and how helpful it is. He’s great to have on your team. You hear things from across the field. I always heard great things. To actually see it has been really fun.”
A .291/.438/.491 slash line, which Frazier brought to the ballpark through 17 games, is always fun, as is stellar defense at third base. “He’s really stabilized the position for us,” Mets assistant general manager John Ricco said.
When you throw in the legal (as far as we know) jolt that Frazier provides to the clubhouse, it’s quite a mix. On Thursday, he wore his “Salt and Pepper” T-shirt during pregame batting practice, celebrating the slogan he popularized based on the notion of the Mets “spreading around” their offense. An initiative to award the aforementioned pepper grinder to the star of each win died a quick death when the Mets lost two straight to the Nationals this week; the grinder didn’t make the trip down South, Frazier confirmed. When it comes to these gags, you’ve got to know when to fold ’em.
It was in mid-January, at the Mets’ Citi Field news conference to reintroduce Jay Bruce, when general manager Sandy Alderson said he had the budget room for another “significant” contract. With Asdrubal Cabrera willing and able to play either second base or third base, the Mets determined they would add one such infielder and place Cabrera at the other spot. Frazier, Nunez, Reyes and Walker topped the list of free agents, and the rebuilding Pirates wanted Brandon Nimmo in return for Harrison.
The team didn’t have a set preference list, Ricco said. It became an “evolving thing,” and when Reyes re-signed for one year and $2 million on Jan. 26, the Mets designated him as a reserve and kept shopping, eventually landing Frazier for two years and $17 million on Feb. 7.
So far, so great for Frazier, who also drew interest from these Braves. Just this week, the Braves signed veteran Jose Bautista to a minor-league contract, in an attempt to move Bautista from the outfield back to … third base, where he has played only sporadically since 2008.
“They did [reach out],” Frazier said of the Braves. “But that’s as far as I’ll talk about it.”
He’s talking about, and doing, everything that matters for these Mets, who so far feel that they made the significantly right call on Frazier.
