Toms River's Todd Frazier To Join Texas Rangers: Reports

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Toms River native Todd Frazier appears to be headed to Texas for the 2020 Major League Baseball season. Reports from several media sources say Frazier and the Texas Rangers have agreed to a one-year contract.

The deal would pay Frazier $5 million for one season, and the Rangers would have the option to renew for the 2021 season, ESPN reported. The deal is dependent on the outcome of a physical, and would be worth $9.25 million if he's picked up for the second year, that report said.

ESPN said the Rangers have been searching for a third baseman since the retirement of Adrian Beltre in 2018.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported it's not clear whether the Rangers will use Frazier at third base or will instead use him on a platoon at first base and install rookie Nick Solak at third.

Neither Frazier, who played for the New York Mets the last two seasons and the New York Yankees in 2017, nor the Rangers have publicly confirmed the details of the deal. Frazier has, however, retweeted congratulatory tweets about the reported deal.

The move will take him farther from his family during the season. Frazier and his wife, Jacquelyn, have three children, and he has spoken locally about how being able to come home to them during his time with the Yankees and Mets has been special.

Frazier, a two-time All-Star during his time with the Cincinnati Reds, also played for the Chicago White Sox in 2016. But he burst into baseball fame as a 12-year-old when he and his Toms River East American teammates won the 1998 Little League World Series.

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