CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
BIRD WON’T BACK AWAY FROM TASK AHEAD — UNSEATING VOIT
TAMPA — Greg Bird has encountered yet another obstacle going into this spring, his fourth since bursting onto the scene in 2015, when he hit 11 homers in 46 games after being called up in mid-August.
He missed the following season with a torn labrum in his shoulder suffered during the offseason. He was sidelined again in 2017 when he had to get a bone removed from his ankle after fouling a ball off it. And Bird was limited to 82 mostly ineffective games last season when a bone spur in the same ankle shelved him again.
This time, he has to battle Luke Voit, who took Bird’s job last season.
Voit heads into the spring with the advantage, given what he accomplished after arriving from the Cardinals in a trade last year, but general manager Brian Cashman said last month Bird would have a chance to win the job before Opening Day. That’s fine with Bird. “I love challenges,’’ Bird said Tuesday outside the team’s minor league complex. “[Voit] obviously came up and was a huge part of our success. That’s awesome. But I like challenges. It will be a fun spring, for sure.”
Bird added he believes he’ll return to the level he reached in 2015, despite his prolonged issues with his health and productivity.
“I’m very confident [I’ll get back],’’ Bird said. “I was able to have a normal offseason.”
Bird hardly played in September and was left off the postseason roster, as Voit turned into a key part of the lineup down the stretch.
There likely isn’t room for both first basemen on the roster, so whoever doesn’t land the starting job could end up in the minors, thanks in part to the additions of infielders DJ LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki.
Asked if he thinks this is his last shot with the Yankees, Bird said, “No … I don’t know. I’m just playing baseball. That’s how I like it. That’s it.”
After having been unable to stay on the field, the only way for Bird to win over the Yankees is to remain in one piece and display the left-handed power that once made him seem like he would be a fixture at first base in The Bronx.
He took most of November and December off and said he “got where I needed to be” physically.
Since January, Bird has spent plenty of time at the team complex, hitting and taking grounders.
“It’s been great so far,’’ Bird said. “I’m excited to play again, to be honest. I’m looking forward to that, playing a healthy season and a healthy spring.”
And he said he would rather not look back on recent frustrations.
“I’ve been able to get healthy and build on what I had and have a foundation to start with,’’ Bird said. “And I was able to get back to a place where I could be me.”
Now, he has the next six weeks to show the Yankees which version that is.