Yankees: Will Greg Bird make the Opening Day roster?

The Yankees were expecting big things from 1B Greg Bird in 2018 but unfortunately, he had another season where he was plagued by injuries and struggled to produce offensively. Heading into spring training Bird is behind Luke Voit on the depth chart at first base and faces an uphill climb to win the starting job.

The past two seasons for Greg Bird have been very similar with how they began but much different with how they ended.

In 2017, Bird injured his right ankle near the end of spring training but went on to play through the pain during the first month of the regular season. He really struggled, hitting .100 in April and in early May he was placed on the DL. He ended up undergoing surgery which kept him out of the lineup until the end of August. However, Bird was a different player when he returned to the lineup and was a force down the stretch, helping the Yanks make it all the way to Game 7 of the ALCS.

Last season Bird reinjured that same ankle just days before the regular season and had to undergo another surgery which kept him out until mid-May. This time around after he returned Bird was a liability offensively and finished the season hitting .199 with 11 HR and 38 RBI in 272 at-bats. Bird played so poorly that Voit was called up from Triple-A and was given an opportunity to get some starts just days after he was acquired in the Chasen Shreve trade.

Of course, Voit went on to take over as the everyday first baseman and had an unbelievable month and a half to end the season for the Yanks. He hit .333 with 14 HR, 33 RBI, and a 1.095 OPS in 39 games, and started every game during the Yankees postseason run. Bird was left off the postseason roster, an easy decision for management to make.

This spring the odds are stacked against Bird to not only to win the starting job but also to make the 25-man Opening Day roster. That being said, the Yankees are still high on Bird him so he’ll have some opportunities this spring to impress. If Voit really struggles there’s a slight chance Bird can win the job, but if he has a poor spring himself there’s really no reason for the Yankees to put him on the roster.

That was the same case last October when Bird was left off in favor of utility man Neil Walker who could play all over the infield including first base. Walker is now a Marlin, but D.J. LeMaheiu is expected to fill a similar role and play some first base.

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Depending on how many outfielders and relievers the Yankees put on the roster I guess there could be one spot left for Bird to fill but that doesn’t really do him any good. Voit deserves a long look at first to start the season after what he accomplished last year which means Bird would pretty much only be used as a pinch hitter. With this All-Star Yankees lineup, there’s really no need to ever pinch hit for guys so Bird would never get any consistent at-bats.

The way I see it Bird is likely to start the season at Triple-A Scranton where he can play every day and have some success to boost his confidence. Than if Voit does end up falling back down to earth or gets injured the Yankees can call Bird up and give him the opportunity to seize the job and win it back for good.

After all the Yankees still very much believe in Bird’s potential and deep down I think they’d prefer to have him and his power lefty bat somewhere in the middle of their order. However, they also know that if Voit keeps raking they’d be crazy to replace him even though their lineup is already very right-handed heavy.

It’ll be interesting to see how things play out this spring but one thing I know is that 2019 will be a make or break year for Greg Bird with the Yankees. Bird once projected to be part of the next great core of young Yankees but if injuries plague him again and he continues to hit under .200 this could be his last year in pinstripes.