New York Yankees: Greg Bird injury is the last straw

Team doctors are saying Greg Bird will be out for at least a month following a left plantar fascia tear. The New York Yankees are desperately looking for their next move. I bet the Bronx Bombers will bring him back when he’s healthy, but that’s definitely not a smart idea.

Ever since he hit a go-ahead home run off Andrew Miller in Game Five of the 2017 American League Divisional Series, New York Yankees slugger Greg Bird has been on a rapid decline. Following what many would call the highlight of his career, Bird has been nothing but a disappointment on the field only playing in 92 games since the 2017 season.

In that time span, he’s batted an incredibly poor .180 average with only a dozen home runs. Those are averages you wouldn’t think of for someone that the Yankees keep giving chance after chance to. I can only imagine one reason why Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone still give this 26-year-old the time of day, and it’s truly sad. He provides a much needed left-handed bat to this New York lineup.

In a Yankees starting nine that had seven right-handed batters step up to the plate on opening day, it’s no wonder why Bird undeservingly manned first base for game one of the year. He provides a threat to take pitchers yard, to a short porch out in right field, one that many teams don’t have the luxury of sporting in their ballparks. The only issue with that is that he’s never consistently delivered and only shows flashes of promise.

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In spring training, Bird batted .333 with three home runs and 10 RBI’s, so the front office hoped that Mr. February would translate his hot game into the regular season. However, Bird has shown that he isn’t capable of making that Major League jump from the Double and Triple-A competition he faces during spring training. He has done little ar the Major League level and the only thing he’s good for at this point is just taking up a roster spot.

His current competition at first, Luke Voit, has shown that his ceiling is much higher than Bird’s is. Additionally, he can stay healthy on a more consistent basis. During his time as a Yankee, Voit’s boasted a .296 average while showing he doesn’t just have to hit a home run to get on base.

Sporting an On Base Percentage of .352, Voit looks to be the bat that the Yankees desperately need in their lineup to help get things cooking offensively. Granted, he’s batting .204 on the season, but it’s better than Bird’s .171 that the Bronx management is trying to cover up.

If the Yanks want left-handed bats bad enough, then be patient. Wait for Aaron Hicks and Didi Gregorius to come back and fill the void that the men in pinstripes so desperately need. When all 12 of the currently injured Yankees come back and take their rightful spots, players such as Gio Urshela and Clint Frazier are in jeopardy of being sent down, despite their phenomenal play in the majors.

I as well as any other New York Yankees fans would love to see Greg Bird succeed in the Bronx, but the only way he can do that is if he can improve his hitting. This is the excuse that Aaron Boone makes over and over again to try and reassure everyone that Bird actually deserves the first base job or even a roster spot.

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Bottom line… We’ve waited five years for a consistent streak of health and hitting and we haven’t seen it. STOP MAKING EXCUSES! Give Voit the permanent job at first and allow the roster spots to be filled with guys that have actually done something to earn them. If not, then it just proves that the New York Yankees are too proud of a franchise to let go of a farm system piece that clearly isn’t working and isn’t worthy of contributing to a 28th ring.

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