The Yankees could see a healthy Greg Bird report to spring training next season.
“Oh, yeah,” the oft-injured first baseman told NJ.com on Wednesday at Tropicana Field. “I’ll be ready. It’s just been a long process. Frustrating.”
Bird, who was visiting his teammates before their 4-0 loss to the Rays, said he is nearly fully recovered from the left plantar fascia tear he sustained at the beginning of the season. The first basemen has been sidelined since April 13 after playing just 10 games.
“I suppose that’s the way it goes sometimes,” said Bird, who was surprised the injury ended his season. “You deal with it, work, hang in there and that’s it.”
The 26-year-old has been rehabbing at the Yankees’ player development complex in Tampa.
“I’m getting fairly close,” said Bird, who has played in just 186 career MLB games. “I should be getting live at-bats fairly soon. I’m hitting [batting practice]. I haven’t hit outside yet.”
This is far from Bird’s first time dealing with a long-term injury.
The promising prospect missed the whole 2016 season recovering from a torn right shoulder labrum that needed surgery.
Bird was limited to 48 games in 2017 following a lengthy stint on the injured list with a bruised ankle that turned into a major surgery to remove the os trigonum in his foot. And in 2018 he needed another surgery to remove a small bone spur in his right foot.
While stepping up in place of an injured Mark Teixeira in 2015, Bird made his big-league debut and went on to hit 11 homers in 46 games. He played the most games of his career in the 2018 season (82), hitting a mere .199 with 11 home runs, before Luke Voit took over when Bird went to the IL.
This year’s spring training saw Voit and Bird go head-to-head for the starting job, with Bird actually taking first base on Opening Day. Bird only saw 41 plate appearances this season, recording one homer and one RBI.