New York Yankees first baseman Greg Bird has had his fair share of injuries the last three years. Now it looks like he’ll be back on the big league roster.
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced Friday that the team expects to get injured first baseman Greg Bird back from the D.L. on Saturday.
The Yankees expect to activate Greg Bird tomorrow, Aaron Boone said.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) May 25, 2018
Bird has missed the entirety of the 2018 season with an ankle injury, different from the one that cost him time in the 2017 season. But, unlike in 2017, the injury was caught before the season started meaning Bird only had to miss games in April and May, instead of June, July, and August.
With Bird returning from the D.L., the Yankees will be getting yet another bat that has the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark. In 94 career games, he’s hit 20 home runs while hitting .227, driving in 59 runs. You also cannot forget his most important home run of his young career against Andrew Miller in the 2017 ALDS.
We’ve heard plenty of people in the league say that Bird’s swing is tailor-made for Yankee Stadium. Home runs like in the video above prove just that as the ball goes flying off his bat to right field over the wall.
Should Bird find that power stroke again, the Yankees lineup will only get better. He adds another left-handed bat in a lineup that is stacked with right-handers. He’ll also bring some stability defensively over at first compared to likes of Neil Walker who is not a natural first baseman.
What Bird’s return means for Walker, and even Tyler Austin has yet to be seen. Walker has just started to turn it around, hitting two home runs in the Yanks most recent series with the Texas Rangers. Austin, on the other hand, has found success hitting eight home runs at the major league level.
Who Bird will replace has yet to be announced, but will result in a tough decision for the Bombers. Either way, the Bird Man of New York will be back on the baseball field.
