5 overreactions for the Yankees slow start that may turn out to be true

WEST PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 20: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees looks on during seventh inning action against the Houston Astros during a spring training game at The Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on March 20, 2019 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Astros defeated the Yankees 2-1. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /

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TAMPA, FLORIDA – MARCH 06: Greg Bird #33 of the New York Yankees takes batting practice before the Grapefruit League spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Steinbrenner Field on March 06, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

4. Greg Bird may be a 4A player

To be clear, the best outcome for the Yankees is that both Greg Bird and Luke Voit emerge as quality starting first baseman this season. Bird’s ugly start isn’t increasing the probability of that occurrence.

Starting the year by going one for seven at the plate isn’t good, but could easily be attributed to small sample size. The real concern about Bird stems from his five strikeouts on the young season. Remember, the Yankees didn’t exactly go up against Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole this weekend. The Orioles threw out a bunch of guys who would’ve struggled to generate any concrete interest in free agency.

If Bird can’t hit at a high level when he’s healthy, he’s never going to have enough value to overcome his propensity to miss games due to injury. It’s too early to send him back to the minors, but he needs to turn things around in a hurry if he wants to stay in New York very much longer.

That makes the upcoming series against the Tigers absolutely massive for the left-hander. He needs to mash against Detroit to make sure he can stay on the major league roster once Hicks returns from injury. If he doesn’t, his time with the Yankees may be over for good.

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