Yankees: Will Greg Bird and Luke Voit both make the Opening Day roster?

Greg Bird and Luke Voit have both gotten off to great starts this spring but only one of them is going to win the Yankees starting first base job. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s not a spot for both of them on the Opening Day roster.

We’re less than a month away from the start of the regular season and neither Bird or Voit has separated themselves in the battle to win the job. Entering camp Yankees GM Brian Cashman said the favorite was Voit and that still might be true, but Bird clearly isn’t going to go down without a fight.

After picking up a double on Saturday Bird has now started the pre-season 6 for 11 with a home run, three doubles, and three RBI. Voit has also looked good albeit in fewer at-bats going 2 for 7 with a home run and four RBI. Obviously, the sample size of at-bats are very limited this early in the spring but if both players continue to hit from here on out the Yankees are going to have a very tough decision to make.

I still think Voit is and deserves to be the front-runner because of what he accomplished last season combined with how much Bird struggled, but also think that within the front office some are hoping Bird wins the job. That because ever since he burst onto the scene back in 2015 Bird has always had the support of management despite how poorly he’s played over the past two seasons.

Even though he came up through the system around the same time as Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge did Bird was once considered by many to be the best hitter in the organization. That’s definitely not the case anymore, but that doesn’t mean the coaching staff isn’t confident that he can still become an impact player for years to come.

Now that Bird is finally 100% healthy with his ankle issue seemingly behind him there’s a real reason to believe he could have a solid bounce-back season. Health has always been the key for him and now that he’s able to really plant that front foot down and drive the ball to all fields I think the Yankees would have a tough time sending him to Triple-A to start the season.

Before the spring started I’m sure a lot of people figured the loser between Bird and Voit would end up in Scranton, but that’s not how it has to be according to skipper Aaron Boone. There’s still a little under four weeks to go so a lot can change but if the battle between the two remains as close as it’s been so far the Yanks should put both of them on the 25-man roster.

The path to doing so would likely mean that one of them would be the primary first basemen while the other would get most of his at-bats as the DH. Giancarlo Stanton is projected to be the Yankees every day DH but he’s more than capable of playing left field as we saw a season ago.

Since Brett Gardner isn’t someone the Yanks should rely on to play every day anymore Stanton could see a lot of time in left this season. That would allow the Yanks to put Voit at DH and have Bird play first because he’s the better defender between the two. Then on the days when a lefty starter is on the mound, they could have a lineup with Stanton in left, Voit at DH and offseason addition D.J. LeMahieu at first.

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Boone has talked about how he wants to get Lemahieu into the starting lineup as much as five to six times a week in his new utility role so this would be a way to do just that. Some might have concerns about the defense with Gardner on the bench, but Stanton is no slouch out there and with Hicks in center and Judge in right the outfield defense as a whole would still be a strength.

Regardless of how the Yankees can fit both Voit and Bird onto the roster the main reason why they should is to give them another lefty bat in the lineup against right-handed starters. With Didi out to start the season, they could really use a power lefty bat in the order because other than Hicks at the top they don’t have one.

With or without Bird this lineup is still going to put up a ton of runs, but if he can be a productive player for them again it would make them so much more dangerous. The lineup would be much more balanced and tougher to navigate through, especially at Yankee Stadium with the short porch in right field.

When the Yankees make their final decision on whether to keep both I think a lot of that will depend on how Bird plays these last four weeks. I think Voit pretty much has a spot on the roster no matter what and if Bird really starts to struggle he’ll win the job and Bird will start the year at Triple-A.

However, if Bird continues to rake I don’t see how the Yankees can keep him off the roster. Because of their need for another lefty in the lineup and the fact that he’s the better defender I think there’s a real chance he ends up being the primary first basemen (against RHP) with Voit at DH and Stanton playing more left field.