Bad news for New York Yankees first baseman Greg Bird, as it’s been revealed he’ll need surgery.
On Saturday, Yankees first baseman Greg Bird was scratched from the lineup ahead of their Spring Training game against the Atlanta Braves due to right foot issues. It was initially reported that there appeared to be no structural damage according to New York skipper Aaron Boone.
But further examination of Bird’s foot has now revealed that he has a “small broken spur on the outside aspect of his right ankle.” Bird is slated to have surgery on Tuesday. The team expects him to miss six to eight weeks.
The real question now is how the Yankees will fare without the 25-year-old first baseman. He was called up in August of the 2015 season to get some major league experience. He did well in a small sample size, slashing .261/.343/.529 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI in 178 plate appearances.
Naturally, this sparked excitement among Bronx fans. But things haven’t exactly worked as planned since his rookie season. He missed all of 2016 with a shoulder injury. In 2017, he was on the disabled list until August after having surgery on his right ankle. The young slugger swung a cold bat after returning, though, hitting a paltry .190 in 48 games.
This year was supposed to be different. Bird was going to be the Yankees starting first baseman from Opening Day and play his first full major league season. Instead, he’ll have his second ankle surgery, keeping him out of commission for upwards of two months.
Despite this news, the Yankees should be fine in his absence. They had a busy offseason and improved their depth considerably. They were adequately prepared to survive a blow like this. Neil Walker is currently listed as the Yankees’ second-string first baseman on their depth chart. The team hasn’t made an announcement as to who will start at the position on Opening Day, but Walker is likely the favorite.
Walker, 32, has proven to be a somewhat underrated infielder in the league. A career .272 hitter with some pop, he’ll be much better than your average backup player. It’s also highly probable the Yankees will call up Tyler Austin. The 26-year-old will most likely split some time with Walker until Bird is able to return.
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We’re about to find out just how important Greg Bird was to this squad. This isn’t the start the Yankees wanted to get off to, but the reality is their lineup is still highly potent without him. Walker’s bat may not have as much upside as Bird’s, but it should be good enough to hold them over until June if it takes Bird that long to return.