Cashman ‘worried’ over Greg’s foot injury
TAMPA — Well, here we go again. Greg Bird is injured, and the Yankees were already fearing the worst for their talented first baseman who hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Bird, who was scratched from a split-squad game in Lake Buena Vista against the Braves, underwent an MRI and CT scan on Saturday afternoon in Tampa after complaining of soreness and discomfort in his right foot. The tests revealed that Bird has right foot inflammation; he will see foot specialist Dr. Martin O’Malley on Monday in New York.
It’s a similar region to where the 25-year-old had right ankle surgery last July to remove an excess bone growth.
“I’m worried about it to be honest,” Brian Cashman said before the tests results came back. “I’m not sure what we’re dealing with, but when Greg can’t tee it up, it’s a problem for us because obviously he’s a vital member of our organization.”
Bird has been prone to injuries during his short career, having played just 94 regularseason games over the last three seasons. He missed the entire 2016 campaign due to a shoulder injury.
In 2017, he was ultimately forced to have surgery in mid-July after blasting a foul ball off his right ankle during the final game of spring training. At the time, it appeared that Bird would only require a short stint on the disabled list. But he ended up being limited to only 48 games — his rehab featuring a series of frustrating setbacks. Bird did post a .938 OPS with three homers in the playoffs.
According to Cashman, Bird began feeling discomfort on Friday, with him ramping it up and playing a full nine innings. Bird didn’t think anything of it until it continued on Saturday.
“You always feel bad when somebody has worked hard to put themselves in a position (to have a big year),” Aaron Boone said. “You know what we think of him as a player and what we believe his ceiling is. So the biggest thing for him being able to prove that would be his healthy, and we think that’s the only thing that stands in his way of being a premium player.”
The Yankees attempted to better protect themselves after their first-base fiasco last season, bringing in versatile veteran Neil Walker as an insurance policy.
They also have youngster Tyler Austin, who didn’t make the team but has power and could step in if Bird misses time. And you wonder if they eventually circle back on veteran Adam Lind, who was with the team for a short period before being released when Walker signed a one-year, $4 million deal.
Cashman said the team will stick with its internal options for now. Brandon Drury played first in the minors, but is firmly planted at third. And prospect Miguel Andujar will get some games at first in Triple-A Scranton as well, but his development there has only just begun.
“It’s important to have depth,” Cashman said. “You’d rather not rely on it, but we have some depth that we can turn to. We’re deep and have other people who can pick up the slack.”
In 2017, the Yankees started Chris Carter, Chase Headley, Garrett Cooper, Rob Refsnyder, Austin Romine, Ji-Man Choi and Austin in Bird’s absence. He had been hitting just .154 this spring, though it’s unknown if that was related to his recent injury.
Every year seems to be the year Bird will finally stay healthy and break out. The team raves about his plate discipline, and multiple scouts feel like he could hit 30-plus homers batting third between Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
But now Didi Gregorius may need to move up to the No. 3 hole if Bird goes on the DL, or the Yankees could hit Judge and Stanton backto-back, which may be their best option as it would guarantee both sluggers hit in the first inning.
As it is, the Bombers may have to face the reality that Bird may just be too brittle to be their long-term answer at first. “You have to be reliable,” the always-positive Bird said earlier this spring. “I want to be the reliable one, and I’ve been working toward that.”
Yet here we are again, with Bird hurt, and the Yankees fearing the worst, wondering how it will all turn out.