The New York Yankees, in desperate need of reinforcements to help recapture first place in the AL East from the surging Toronto Blue Jays, called up first base prospect Greg Bird on Thursday, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Bird is the No. 4-ranked prospect in the Yankee’s farm system.
As of Wednesday, the Yankees, who have clung to first place in the division for much of the season, now sit a half game behind the Jays in the division. The Blue Jays have looked all but unstoppable since the acquisitions of pitcher David Price and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. In fact, they are undefeated in their last 10 games and have scored fewer than five runs just three times in that stretch.
The Yankees, on the other hand, are floundering. They have lost seven of their last 10 games, and and have put up more than two runs in just three of those games. Clearly, the Bronx Bombers are in need of additional firepower.
Bird should help with that. Originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, Bird has been a career .282 hitter in the minor leagues. Within the organization, he is widely considered to be one of the two-best, if not the best, hitting prospect New York has. While he was hitting only .258 prior to his promotion to Triple-A, he has since turned up the heat. In 136 at-bats with Scranton, he owns a .301 batting average to go with his .353 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage. For perspective, had he been putting up those number with the Yankees, they would rank first, fourth, and third, respectively, among New York’s regular starters.
One downside to Bird is his strikeout total, which more than doubled his walk total in Triple-A. A lack of plate discipline with become an even bigger problem against major league pitching, which can exploit the weaknesses of even the best hitters in the game. He also does not hit for much power at this point in his career. He has only hit six home runs with Scranton, and had just six with Double-A Trenton before that. However, he has hit 23 doubles between the two levels this season, and some time spent in a major league strength program may eventually cause some of those doubles to leave the park, especially when hitting to Yankee Stadium’s short porch.
Regardless of his home run ability, the Yankees are in dire need of run production, and Bird should immediately help with that. He is also an excellent defensive first baseman, having made only two errors between two levels of the minor leagues this season, and so will not be a liability in the field when inserted into the lineup.
Mark Teixeira, New York’s regular first baseman, is no slouch with the leather himself, and is enjoying a renaissance season of sorts at the plate, and so is in no danger of losing his job to Bird at the moment. However, he is 35 years old, and it is clear that Bird is considered the future at the position. Even if Bird does not take over as the starter this season, the Yankees need to see what they have waiting for them when they inevitably move on from Teixeira. Bird may or may not help them get back into first place, but his call up will at least be useful from an evaluation standpoint.
As the regular season winds down and the race for the AL East crown heats up, look for the Jays and the Yankees both to continue making move in an effort to reach October. The Yankees lead the AL Wildcard race at the moment, but are only 2.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and would like to reclaim their place atop the division. The Jays, on the other had, are looking to keep up their winning ways and extend their lead over New York. A win today over the Oakland A’s would help that cause, but anything can happen in the last month and a half.
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