1:07pm: The Yankees announced that Bird has indeed rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency.
12:35pm: Now-former Yankees first baseman Greg Bird has cleared waivers, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’s officially available on the open market.
This isn’t how the Yanks expected things to end. The now-27-year-old had a big 2015 debut, hitting .261/.343/.529 with 11 homers in 178 plate appearances, creating some optimism that he could settle in as a long-term option at first base. As one would expect given that rookie output, Bird was afforded quite a few opportunities over the years, but on-field struggles and injury issues sapped him of staying power.
In the past four seasons, Bird has only managed to stay on the field for 140 games and 522 plate appearances, recording a woeful .194/.287/.388 batting line in that time. Ultimately, Bird took seven hundred plate appearances for the Yankees. He hit 32 home runs and carried a .211/.301/.424 slash line. He has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining and should latch on with another club in need of first base/DH depth.
Bye Bye Birdie!
Next to be put on waivers Clint Frazier.
They’re not putting Clint on waivers
Please waive Clint too. Please Tigers, sign both of them. That would be the Billy Bass Christmas present that makes everyone happy.
Frazier is going to be good. He is only 25 yo.
No he has a ton of value and is an everyday MLB outfielder on most teams. Very uneducated comment
I’d like to see how he’d do at Camden yards. Not really a spot for him, since anyone wth any power at all on the Os can’t field at all, but why not see what he can do?
Why the hype on this kid? I could never figure out why the yanks had this undying love for him
Because Yankees fans are delusional and believe anyone who wears the uni = HOFer.
Wrong. I’m a a Sox fan and his swing in Yankee Stadium was a thing beauty. Can’t believe he only hit 32 home runs.
Yeah when he connected it was glorious. He used to put moonshots in the upper porch in right on the reg.
Room for Bird on Boston ? He’d kill the Pesky Pole (if he could stay healthy…)
His injuries sapped too much time in what was crucial years to grow and mature as a player. He needs to go to a low pressure spot and stay healthy if he wants to fulfill any of whats remaining of his potential. Dont know if thatll happen, given his injury history.
In 220 plate appearances that’s not bad. Albeit over 5 seasons. 😉 Take a chance.
Like how Cubs fans think they can get anyone in a trade including Ian Happ.
I’m a Cubs fan and believe me Ian Happ is not looked at as anyone of value.
I would rather be delusional than a bitter has been with no hope… 🙂
That was a stupid comment That made as much sense as putting in a screen door on a submarine
You’d be surprised at how hot a submarine can get in the summer.
Nice come back Biff Tannon
@Strike Four
Yes…you are correct. No other fan of a team has EVER gone thru that. Nope………100% of every teams prospects are successful and no fan has ever dreamed of “what could’ve been” until the player is finally released. Yeezus.
I truly think Braves fans are far worse than any Yankee fans prospect love. Every prospect is the next Glavin or Chipper clone.
Because he had a good month and a swing Taylor made for YS. He also was the first of the young guys who came up as the team was shifting to younger, homegrown players
Bird was in the minors with a lot of the young players now with the big club – Judge, Sanchez – and was considered the best prospect. Combine that with his performance at the end of 2015…
Ignore the Yankee envious millenials making uninformed and ignorant comments ( see Strike Four )
Come on, give us the algebra on why Bird wasn’t successful with the Yanks, clepto, since you’re so brilliant. I won’t hold my breath. Lol
Sadly, Bird became the Nick Johnson of this decade.
tailor-made* golf guy
I’m actually more of a Ping guy when it comes to that
LOL
He was lik kevin mass. Great 1/3 of a season…
Kevin Maas was one dimensional. Bird had a smoother more direct swing. Better eye. It’s too bad that he couldn’t stay on the field.
Sorry but he was no where near the hype of Mass, Mass had bigger hype than Trout and Harper
At least spell the guy’s name right if you want to rip him. Jackaas.
Great smooth lefty swing. He was made for that RF porch. He came up and was excellent those first two months. Had a steong postseason in 2017 as well when he finally got healthy (once). He’ll probably go to Tampa and drive in 90 runs at minimum wage.
because in a short sample you saw Olerud with more power. Too bad he hasn’t stayed healthy
@bravesfan
Wow….like Braves fans weren’t literally gushing over Jordan Schafer a few years ago. Every team has a prospect that shows a flash of success and then frustrates you with failure. First it was his imabibility to stay healthy and then it became his inability to hit when healthy. But he’s a lefty who’s swing was meant for Yankee Stadium. He also had great minor league number. A near .900 OPS w/ a .281/.396/.485 slash. Nice combo of walking and hitting homers.
He also excited us when he debuted wayyyyy back in 2015 with 11 homers in his first 46 games. He also hit a big go-ahead homerun vs the Indians in the 2017 ALDS.
It was a best of 5 series and the Indians were up 2-0. In game three Bird hit a majestic homer in the 7th and the Yanks avoided elimination winning the game 1-0. Yanks went on to win the next 2 games and won the series.
Small sample size but in that 2017 post-season run vs Minnesota, Cleveland and the Astros he had a .921 OPS with 3 homers and 6 rbi. He them injured his shoulder in the off-season, missed all of 2016 and was never right after that. Frustrated Yankee fans. The gap between Texiera and Bird was filled with a bunch of wtf is he guys and Cashman tried to give him every chance to fill the spot until he moved on to Voit.
He’s had a tremendous bat
Bird has the equivalent of 1 full season at the plate. 32 HRs, 98 RBIs and 32 doubles. He, obviously, needs to get and stay healthy, and cut down on the K’s while making more contact to raise his average, but he’s worth taking a chance on. Decent 1st baseman, as well. I’m disappointed he’s no longer a Yankee.
ok boomer
Hahaha
Aww, I see mommy allowed you on the computer for Thanksgiving. Don’t choke on the wishbone, tomorrow.
Hilarious, please keep using it.
– clapback, throw shade, and literally
imagine using the ok boomer meme incorrectly. is there anything more boomer than that?
He reminds me of Nick Johnson with more power potential. I don’t blame the Yankees for cutting him since they have a great 1B depth. Voit, Ford, DJ, and Anduljar all can do reps there.
He’s the best of all those players you mentioned by far when healthy at 1b.
Oh and Voit and Ford are minor league players at best, neither will start consistanly for the Yanks going forward. More than likely Andujar
You say “Voit and Ford are minor league players at best”. What are they at worst?
Horrible defender.. You forgot he missed a routine throw from second to first? Popped out of his glove
Orioles
No way, unless they part ways with Davis. There just isn’t a spot. Mancini should be on first, but so should Nunez. Are they going to have 1B DH guys 2 that can’t play the field and one that can’t hit?
The Orioles need to trade Mancini now while he still has trade surplus value (and two years of control)
@lmcpeeks
Whatever team he signs with will almost certainly send him to AAA to see if he can stay healthy and hit well. No GM would or should simply hand him an mlb job. He’s worth a minor league deal though.
Reds
personally I’d love that, but as long as Votto is here I don’t see them acquiring much 1B depth. I mean they just let O’Grady get away. Hopefully Votto finds his groove
I wouldn’t adding him to the Rangers 1B minor league mix. He can’t be much worse than Guzman at the plate and he has upside.
Many teams will feel the same way to the point that he could get a Major league offer if a team has a 40 man spot. If he can stay healthy (a huge if) and regain his confidence, he could easily be a starting first baseman in 2020. Even Boston has an opening and why not chance it with him instead of Moreland who will cost millions more?
I think it’s safe to say he will only get a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. First he would have to stay healthy, then he would have to perform when given the opportunity.
My point was if he gets multiple offers, one might bite with a major league contract to get it done. Risk is still not much.
There is more risk than it seems. Not only do you need him to stay healthy for that but he needs to regain his confidence at the plate (he lost it upon his [second? i forget] return from injury in the latter half of the 2018 season). If youre a team that is trying to win now, that might not be ideal. However, if you are a team like the Orioles and can afford the gamble (not many options to play at 1B, not in contention) then he might be a decent fit. The risk increases the more good your team is, because if youre in contention you may not be able to afford to just give Bird a ton of ABs. Could lead to some early losses that bite you later in the season.
Good! Cut & Run! Would of loved to trade him and get something! To many others can play 1st! Would of loved the Left-handed bat but not worth the Roster spot!!
If he had value they would’ve have traded him for anything along with the fact that if he had any value he would’ve been claimed
“if he had any value he wouldve been claimed”
Not really true, since he will probably get an offer somewhere. If he really had no value then he would get no offer.
He wasn’t claimed because it costs draft picks
Take a chance on him Jerry
he’s not under contract, ane therefore cant be traded for, so not gonna happen.
And where would he play for the Mariners? They just signed their first baseman of the future to a long term deal before he’s even stepped foot on a major league field.
Marlins would be a nice fit.
With Gary Denbo and Co., I’m thinking we’re going to see him in Marlins camp. Denbo is certainly going to try to bring another one of his guys to Miami, like he did with Cooper.
It could work, but I’d personally like to see Miami sign Eric Thames to platoon with Cooper as opposed to settling on Bird as an option. Dude has to prove he’s healthy first. I do think Miami would be able to stash Bird in Triple A, even if they sign Thames though.
@MarlinsFanBase
Don’t forget Ji-Man Choi too. Yanks went thru a lot of 1B trying to bridge the gap from Texeira to Voit with Bird being given every opportunity to claim it.
Brewers could use a lefty 1B….. Like to see them do something with a little more splash, but this seems like more their type of move.
I agree. Wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Bird land in Milwaukee.
Thames is way better, just re-sign him.
Does this mean he won’t go into the HOF with a Yankee cap on?
Blue Jays. Maybe a light version 2.0 of Smoak.
very light
There are certainly some similarities in their respective career paths.
With shifts and strike outs and injury this guy is not much of a prospect.
shifts and strikeouts don’t apply to him, staying healthy is the only reason he was DFA’d. He’s a great natural left handed bat with good to great defense when healthy
smh cheap Yankees just looking to cut payroll. /s
Ummmm he makes less than a million a year lol
Hope this kid gets a shot elsewhere. His swing is a thing of beauty.
gotta feeling hes coming to Milwaukee. ehh why not on a minor league deal.
I’d take that all day long
absolutely
I think hes got more left in the tank. I would jump on this ASAP
I would have guessed someone would throw something the Yankees way to acquire him- unused international cap dollars, PTBN, cash considerations… Not that I expect him to do much, but he does have a pretty high ceiling, even if he doesn’t look like he’ll come close to reaching it.
Is he out of options? Would an acquiring team have been forced to keep him on major league roster? I guess that could be why.
I believe Bird still does have options. 3 ,if I remember correctly.
@southpaw2153
Good question. It says he has two arb seasons left. I’m assuming they released him just to make room on the 40 man roster.
I see the Marlins calling him right now as we post.
cleanup hitter?
He’ll def land somewhere. Health has kept him from success, not a lack of talent.
Surprised no team took a flyer on him. Figured a team like Boston wouldve
First good news of this off-season. Am glad they finally gave up on this guy even worse then nick Johnson what a waste of time this guy was.
Why do ppl keep saying he was so talented his batting average says otherwise. Lets not forget even Jesus Montero looked amazing for some games and we know how that worked out. He got lucky that the front office is obsessed with a left handed hitter see nick johnson.
@WhereIs28
What are you missing here dude? He was released because he was oft-injured and couldn’t hit mlb pitching consistently. What made him intriguing was his near .900 OPS, his 2015 debut where he hit 11 homers in 46 games and the heroic homer he hit in the ALDS to avoid elimination.
Hitting had nothng to do with his release period. All health
Batting numbers do say he was a great hitter
261 and 11 homers is a breakout year? wow
@pburns65
11 homers in his first 157 AB is exceptional. Not really wise to use his mlb numbers to wonder why his failure is a big deal. If he had better numbers we wouldn’t be talking about his release. Like every other former failed prospect it’s what he did in the minors, .281/.396/.485 with a high walk rate and power that made us hopeful he could stick.
This is an Atkins Jays type of guy. Buy low reclamation project who has upside but hasn’t clicked yet. Jays have an opening and he and Tellez could compete for the job in Spring Tng.
Agreed. 1base In Toronto is really up on the air. no real minor depth either.
I keep calling him nick johnson 2.0 , has tremendous potential but he gets hurt to often. Hope someone can help him out , he’s still young.
Yeah he needed a change of scenery. Maybe go to a rebuilding team with an opening at 1B and try to salvage his career.
I could see him signing with the Royals.
What a waste!!
Hope the rangers sign him to a minor league contract and provide some competition for Ronald Guzman. Seems like a change of scenery might do him some good.
Bird flys the coop!!
Was injured in the process.
Just go to baseball reference there are hundreds of players like him sad maybe someone give him a shot 27 years old..??
Goodbye, Greg! Some Yankee haters and fans alike are gonna trash Birdie, but he was ruined by injuries. Bird had/has an excellent swing and plate discipline. He just needs to stay healthy and have an opportunity to see the field. Would his hometown Rockies be a good choice?
A’s & Rays racing to his agent
Should have been done years ago. Take Brett Garbage with you too.
Talented .122 hitter who played in about 30 games in a 5 year span. Do yourself a favor and go get a 9-5 job Bird
Thank God. The Yankees gave him to many opportunities glad they won’t have the temptation now
:-/ stinks