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Ankle Surgery An Option For Greg Bird

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The Yankees revealed to reporters earlier today that Michael Pineda has a partial UCL tear and has been recommended to undergo Tommy John surgery, and the bad injury news doesn’t stop there. Via Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com, GM Brian Cashman also elaborated on Greg Bird’s ankle injury today and revealed that the young first baseman may require surgery.

Bird is dealing with an ailment called “os trigonum” syndrome — an excess bone growth that could require surgical removal. Bird is headed for another opinion on his ankle and will have further discussions with medical professionals, the team and his agents before deciding on a course of action. The surgery would sideline Bird for “at least another two months,” per Marchand. One alternative is a second cortisone shot, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (on Twitter).

With Bird and Tyler Austin ailing and Chris Carter cut loose after struggling, the Yankees swung a trade to acquire 26-year-old Triple-A first baseman Garrett Cooper from the Brewers yesterday. Cashman tells reporters that Cooper will be brought directly onto the roster to make his MLB debut — moving Pineda to the 60-day DL would open a roster spot — for this weekend’s series at Fenway Park. At the very least, the right-handed-hitting Cooper will see at-bats against left-handed pitching this weekend, tweets Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media. Through 320 plate appearances in Triple-A this year, Cooper was hitting .366/.428/.652 with 17 homers, although those numbers came in the extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League (specifically, in the launching pad that is Colorado Springs).

Brewers Acquire Tyler Webb From Yankees For Garrett Cooper

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1:01pm: Milwaukee has announced the swap, adding that Webb will open his tenure with the organization at Triple-A. The same holds true of Cooper, per the Yankees’ announcement.

12:28pm: The Brewers and Yankees have lined up on a minor deal with potentially significant ramifications, as both teams seemingly met needs while dealing from areas of depth. Per Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter), lefty Tyler Webb is headed to Milwaukee. Minor-league first baseman Garrett Cooper is going in return in the swap, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports hinted (via Twitter) and Jon Heyman of Fan Rag confirms (in a tweet).

Webb, 26, will give the Milwaukee pen another southpaw option. He made his MLB debut for New York this year after spending spring camp with the Pirates as a Rule 5 pick. Webb put up 33 1/3 impressive Triple-A innings upon his return to the New York organization, posting 47 strikeouts against just three walks in that span.

The major league sample is quite a small one. Webb has thrown only six innings in seven appearances, allowing three earned runs but only three total base hits. He has struck out five and walked four. Webb only checks in with a low-nineties fastball, but also utilizes a change and slider — to good effect, evidently, at least in the upper minors.

Cooper, who’s also 26 years of age, has enjoyed quite a productive season thus far in the hitter-friendly environs of Colorado Springs. Through 320 plate appearances on the year, he owns a .366/.428/.652 slash with 17 home runs. That’s a big power jump for the former sixth-round pick, who has also drawn 33 walks against just 48 strikeouts on the year.

Clearly, the right-handed hitter offers an alternative to Greg Bird, who’s injury status has left the team in flux at first base. Whether additional trade targets could still also be pursued isn’t immediately clear, but seemingly remains plausible.

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