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What a world, lol. Greg Bird, the prince that was promised, has found his way back into the Yankees system. Ironically enough, I was just thinking about Greg Bird the other day. We were talking about how ever since Mark Teixeira left, the Yankees have not had a consistent first baseman until now with Anthony Rizzo. Greg Bird was supposed to be that guy.
Growing up in the late 90's and early 2000s, as Yankee fans, we were enamored by "the core-four". Bryan Hoch of MLB.com wrote a book of the next great core, The Baby Bombers. They were supposed to be the saving grace. Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andújar, Gary Sánchez, Luis Severino, and Greg Bird. All talented in their own regards, but it hasn't panned out like Jeter and company just yet. However, it's nice to see a familiar face return.
Bird was one of the better prospects in the New York system while in the minors. In 2015, he was the Yanks 4th ranked prospect behind Jorge Mateo, Judge, and Sevy.
When the lefty debuted in the majors that year, he slashed a line of .261/.343/.52 in 178 plate appearances. He showed promise but injuries derailed his path. He missed all of 2016 with a shoulder injury and then the next three seasons, he merely hit .194/.287/.388 in 522 plate appearances.
He was DFA'd in 2019 and bounced around the league, joining the Rangers, Phillies, Rockies and Blue Jays organizations on minor league deals. He recently fell out of the trust tree in Toronto, where the Blue Jays chose Gosuke Katoh over him. Clearly the Yankees were impressed, especially after he hit a homer against the them in spring training.
However, he came off a pretty nice season for the Rockies minor league in Albuquerque, smashing 27 home runs on a line of .267/.362/.532. I think this is a solid depth move/insurance piece for the Yanks. Low risk with a potential reward.
You'd think it's funny of me dedicating a whole blog on Greg Bird and a minor league deal, but I really enjoyed his time as a Yank. I mean how could you ever forget about his homerun Game 3 ALDS homer?! In that postseason alone, Bird slashed .244/.426/.512 with three home runs and 6 RBIs.
I like the move, I like the reunion, hopefully he can return to form in the minors.