Todd Frazier expects to be 100 percent for the starting of White Sox spring training next month despite sporting a splint on his left hand that, he admitted, looks worse than the issue actually is.
Frazier has dealt with a sprained left index finger since an awkward check swing toward the end of last season, he said Friday prior to the opening ceremonies of SoxFest at the Hilton Chicago. He didn't think much of it after the season ended, but noticed it again when he tried to start lifting weights during the offseason.
Frazier had an MRI on his finger Friday and was told he "should be full go" for spring training, though he admitted it could be a slow process during a longer-than-usual spring training thanks to the World Baseball Classic.
Between the finger, having a new house built and raising his two children, Frazier said he hasn't had a lot of time to pay attention to the trade rumors swirling around him and his teammates since the White Sox completed those two rebuilding blockbuster trades at the Winter Meetings. In dealing away Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, Frazier will be one of the players in the White Sox clubhouse looked to for leadership as the franchise dives head-first into a youth movement.
But with general manager Rick Hahn saying Friday the White Sox remain in trade discussions with other teams, and Frazier only having one year left until free agency, the 30-year-old third baseman is in a prime position to be dealt at some point between now and July 31.
"(It's) not awkward," Frazier said. "I've been in that situation before. We know the business how it is, and it is what it is. I talked with Rick yesterday, everything looks pretty good. I probably still could get traded, you never know, that's just the way it goes. But my focus, right now, is on spring training and building relationships right now with the team."
Frazier's been through this before — after all, it was only a year ago that the White Sox acquired him from Cincinnati in a three-team trade — so knows the "it's not in your hands" drill.
MLB
"It's nice to hear that," Frazier said of the persistent trade rumors. "But it'll be nice to play here too as well."
