Yankees should cut ties with Neil Walker to make room for Greg Bird

Greg Bird’s return to the Bronx gives the Yankees a tough roster decision. The right move would be to part ways with Neil Walker to make room for Bird.

Not everyone in the Yankees clubhouse will be excited to see Greg Bird make his return to the Major Leagues today. Someone is going to lose their roster spot to make room for the power-hitting first basemen.

Conventional wisdom believes there are three players who are in significant danger. Reliever A.J. Cole is arguably the favorite to leave the team. The Yankees don’t have much invested in him and Aaron Boone hasn’t shown the confidence to pitch him in high-leverage situations.

It’s worth noting that Cole still hasn’t given up a run in a Yankee uniform. He’s only made six appearances, but he’s still been a concrete positive for the bullpen. Given the current struggles of that unit he should get an opportunity to keep his run going. Now isn’t the right time to let Cole walk out the door.

The second option for Brian Cashman would be to send first basemen Tyler Austin back to the minors. There’s some merit in this idea. He’s only hitting .231 on the season and he still has minor league options left. Some time back in AAA could help him get his confidence back up before returning to the big leagues. On the other hand, Austin does have eight home runs in just 104 plate appearances. He’s shown enough power to keep his roster spot.

That leaves Neil Walker as the player who should be on the chopping block. He’s enjoyed a solid career but it’s very possible the game has passed him by. He’s only hitting .220 on the season with two home runs. He, of course, doesn’t have minor league options left. It still doesn’t make sense to keep the 32-year-old on the roster when he’s being soundly outhit by a 26-year-old at the same position.

Some might argue that Walker should maintain his roster spot due to his positional versatility. That argument would carry more weight if the Yankees didn’t have Brandon Drury waiting in the wings. Walker’s other position is second base. He’s not going to take over for Gleyber Torres if he misses significant time due to injury. That duty would go to Drury or Ronald Torreyes.

Next: 5 pitchers the Yankees can target in a trade

The simple truth is Neil Walker isn’t helping the Yankees right now. His -.4 WAR on the season makes it obvious he should be the player to make room for Bird. Now it’s time to see if the Yankees have the nerve to make that tough decision.