Greg Bird set to rejoin Yankees Saturday

The New York Yankees just activated Starlin Castro on Friday. Now, Greg Bird is coming back.

The New York Yankees are slowly but surely getting guys healthy again, and they’ll add one more to the list on Saturday. First baseman Greg Bird is set to join the Yankees on Saturday after missing all but 19 games this season.

Bird has suffered from foot and ankle problems ever since spring training when he fouled a ball off his foot just days before opening day.

He tried to play through it, but the 6-for-60 start to the season forced him to the DL, and eventually surgery on that ankle.

Bird was the team’s opening day starter at first base, but as mentioned his .100 batting average to start the season raised some alarms for the club.

After missing all of the 2016 season with a shoulder injury, Bird came back like a man on a mission in 2017. He slashed .451/.556/1.098 during spring training. Yes, you read that right: Greg Bird had a 1.098 slugging percentage in spring training.

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Back when Bird was originally called up toward the end of the 2015 season, he proved to the team that he could play in the big leagues. In 46 games, he slashed .261/.343/.529 and really helped propel the Yankees into that wild card spot.

Obviously, the Yankees hope he can be the Greg Bird he was during spring training, and his numbers during his rehab stint are a good sign. If he can put up numbers similar to what he did in his rookie campaign, they’ll take that too, because first base has been a statistical black hole all season, even with Chase Headley on a hot streak now.