Yankees Rumors: Eric Hosmer to the Bronx?

With Greg Bird scuffling to find his swing while on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Scranton, the idea of the Yankees potentially acquiring free-agent-to-be Eric Hosmer from the Royals has been floated.

All indications are that Greg Bird’s bruised right ankle is finally healed. The issue, though, is that his swing is still broken. In his sixth rehab game on Wednesday night, the Yankees first baseman went 0-3 at the plate, dropping his average to .143 and OPS to .595.

Not that Bird was lighting the majors on fire before injuring himself on May 2 (.100 BA with 22 strikeouts in just 60 at-bats), but he’ll need to prove he’s worthy of a return to the 24-man roster before the club makes a corresponding move.

Speaking with Newsday, manager Joe Girardi sounded a bit pessimistic about Bird getting the call-up anytime soon.

“The results, they haven’t been great,” Joe Girardi said Wednesday. “Trying to get him going is what we’re trying to do. We’ll continue to let him play and hopefully, he gets it going.”“You want to see him swinging the bat and making hard contact, I think that’s the big thing,” Girardi said. “I’m not there so I’m not necessarily watching the whole at-bat and how he’s reacting to pitches, but when you look at the numbers, they’re not what we expect from Greg Bird.”More from Yankees NewsAndrew Benintendi-White Sox deal proves Yankees were right to prioritize Carlos RodónTwins already bailing on Gary Sánchez emphasizes Yankees’ trade failureNew Yankees No. 2 Carlos Rodón hates Astros, dominates them3 cost-effective free agents who can fill out Yankees roster after Aaron Judge dealYankees sign Carlos Rodón after Scott Boras staredown to fill out special 2023 rotation

In traditional Chris Carter fashion, the 2016 NL Home Run leader has been all or nothing this season. Should Bird fail to regain even a small sample size of the form he showed in Spring Training, or Carter fails to improve upon his .207 BA, six home runs and 20 RBI — the Yankees may be forced to look outside for a more effective option at first base.

And here’s where the good folks at MLB Trade Rumors float the idea of the Yankees acquiring Eric Hosmer from the Royals — who for all intents and purposes look to be only weeks away from a major fire sale.

Hosmer had a terrible second half in 2016 and got off to a slow start in 2017, but he’s reminded everyone why there’s talk of him potentially signing a mega-deal this offseason with his recent play. He’s hitting .314/.363/.469 on the season as a whole, and if you throw out his first 20 games of the season, that slash line jumps to a preposterous .370/.415/.574. That’s admittedly an arbitrary cutoff, and Hosmer has shown to be too ground-ball happy and prone to slumps in the past. But for the past 42 games, he’s been among baseball’s very best hitters, and a club with a void at first base/DH such as the Yankees, Rangers or Mariners (if the latter two end up as buyers) could benefit.

The biggest negative against the Yanks potentially acquiring Hosmer is the fact that he’s set to hit free agency after this season, so it’s a risky proposition to trade a number of top prospects for a guy who could very well walk in five months time.

Even if a trade did materialize, would the club re-sign Hosmer for what I can only imagine being a seven-year deal worth between $75-$90 million? That seems like a lot of money for a guy who barely has better power numbers than $3 million-man Carter.

Yet Hosmer provides much more than Carter ever will. The question, though, is he a better long-term solution than Bird is?

The 27-year-old Hosmer is already a three-time Gold Glove winner, World Series Champion and proven clubhouse presence. A consistent left-handed stick in the middle of the order would solidify an already stout lineup (still, we hope Bird can be this).

Perhaps if the Royals feel Hosmer won’t re-sign and are willing to take middle-tier prospects, then a deal could materialize. The Yankees would be wise to utilize Bird at DH next season once Matt Holliday‘s contract expires.

Yankees: With CC Sabathia likely headed to DL, who replaces him?

CC Sabathia suffered a strained his left hamstring against the Angels and could miss an extended period of time for the first place Yankees.

Otherwise, as purely a rental piece, Hosmer to the Yankees doesn’t make much sense.