Cubs place Clint Frazier on injured list with appendicitis

CHICAGO — Clint Frazier’s injury-plagued career took another hit Friday when the Chicago Cubs announced the outfielder has been sidelined because of appendicitis.

Frazier was put on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Wednesday.

The 27-year-old Frazier missed the final 82 games of last season with the New York Yankees because of vertigo. He signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Cubs after being released by the Yankees on Nov. 19.

Frazier was batting .143 (3 for 21) with two doubles and two walks in 10 games for the Cubs.

Outfielder Alfonso Rivas was recalled from Triple-A Iowa.

Rivas, 25, made the opening day roster and was 2 for 4 before he was optioned to Iowa on April 16. Rivas was batting .539 (7 for 13) with two doubles, one homer and four RBIs with Iowa.

Injuries have followed Frazier, a former first-round pick of Cleveland in the 2013 draft, since he was traded to the Yankees as part of a 2016 deadline trade for left-handed reliever Andrew Miller.

Frazier made his major league debut in 2017, batting .231 in 39 games for the Yankees. But he suffered a concussion in spring training in 2015 and was placed on the IL for two stints related to his concussion, including a second trip from July 16 to the remainder of the season. He played in 15 games over four stints, batting .265.

Frazier rebounded in 2019 with career-highs of 14 doubles, 12 home runs and 38 RBIs in 69 games. But he missed two weeks because of a left ankle sprain.

Frazier continued his brief progress during the 60-game season in 2020 with a .267 batting average, eight home runs and 26 RBIs in 39 games, 16 from the cleanup spot. Frazier was a finalist for the AL Gold Glove Award in right field after committing one error in 53 chances (.981 fielding percentage).

He hit a home run in Game 1 of the 2020 AL Division Series against Tampa Bay. But his vertigo issues surfaced the following year, and a .186 batting average in 66 games made him expendable when the season ended.