Smothered by the Yankees releasing Jacoby Ellsbury and eating $26 million Wednesday night was the news that Greg Bird’s career in pinstripes is likely kaput.
Needing room on the 40-man roster to protect seven minor leaguers from being available in next month’s Rule 5 draft, the Yankees designated the 27-year-old Bird for assignment.
Bird arrived in the big leagues in 2015 before Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez and immediately impressed as Mark Teixeira’s replacement with a sweet left-handed swing made for Yankee Stadium.
However, serious injuries dominated Bird’s next four years in pinstripes and led to Wednesday night’s decision. The Yankees have 10 days to trade Bird or release him. There is a chance a team could claim Bird on waivers.
After a solid 2015 season, when he hit .261 with 11 homers, 31 RBIs and posted an .872 OPS, Bird was crushed by injuries.
He missed all of 2016 because of right shoulder surgery and was limited to a combined 130 games in 2017 and 2018 because of surgeries on his right ankle. This past season, Bird appeared in 10 games before going on the injured list on April 16 with a tear in his left plantar fascia that sidelined him the rest of the season. He played in seven games for Gigantes in the Dominican Winter League as an avenue to reacclimate to baseball activities and went 3-for-24 (.125).
The Yankees could have kept Bird on the 40-man roster until Dec. 2, when contracts have to be tendered, but opted to cut the fifth-round pick in the 2011 draft.
If Bird, who has three minor league options remaining, doesn’t land with a big-league team, he could return to the Yankees on a minor league deal, but that is an extremely long shot considering the Yankees have DJ LeMahieu, Luke Voit and Mike Ford to play first base and all are on the 40-man roster already.
Of the seven prospects the Yankees elevated to the 40-man roster, right-hander Deivi Garcia has the biggest upside.
The 5-foot-9, 163-pound Garcia emerged as the Yankees’ top pitching prospect this past summer when the 20-year-old worked at three levels and reached Triple-A with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he went 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA in 11 games (six starts). He was shifted to the bullpen in mid-August in case he was needed in the big-league bullpen, but wasn’t promoted when rosters expanded Sept. 1.