Greg Bird was arguably the first Baby Bomber to make his mark on the big leagues. Before Judge, Sanchez, Torres, or Severino, Bird was a vital cog for a 2015 Yankees team that snuck into the Wild Card round, starting in place of the injured Mark Teixeira in their lone playoff game.
But, he hasn't come close to the sustained excellence of his 2015 run. After hitting .261/.343/.529 with 11 home runs, he's failed to cross the Mendoza line in three consecutive seasons. In an unprecedented era of power hitting, he's hit .191 since. Despite his entire career existing during the juiced-ball era, his slugging percentage has decreased every season. When he's healthy enough to play, he's rarely been good.
The oft-injured talent officially elected free agency, turning down an optional assignment to Triple-A. While the Yankees may still work out an incentivized minor league contract with opt-outs should a better opportunity turn up, we've likely seen the last of Bird in pinstripes. The emergence of both Luke Voit and Mike Ford, Miguel Andujar's defensive future, DJ LeMahieu's versatility and the many veteran sluggers that merit some occasional half days off means he has a lot of competition on the roster.
Despite Bird's struggles, he had some unforgettable moments with the Yankees _ just ask Andrew Miller _ and should draw interest among the many teams looking for help at first base. Now that he's no longer a Yankee, we don't need to chirp away with endless Bird puns, so we'll keep our beaks shut and focus on where he should fly off to next.
