3 reasons you shouldn’t give up on Yankees’ Greg Bird

Yankees first baseman Greg Bird has had a rough 2018, but it’s not over yet. Here’s why. Bird went 0-for-4 in the Yankees’ 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, August 16, 2018 (8/16/18) at Yankee Stadium, dropping his batting average for the season to .211.

Yankees first baseman Greg Bird is having, by any measure, a bad season.

Bird has hit .211 with nine home runs and 29 RBI. Entering Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Rays at Yankee Stadium, in which he went 0-for-4, his .710 OPS was No. 32 among those at his position with at least 200 plate appearances.

Still, you shouldn’t give up on him just yet.

Yankees report cards

Here are a quick three reasons why:

1.) The Yankees are pretty good at this: It’s rare the Yankees miss on a prospect they have talked up as much as they have Bird. Maybe 2013 first-round pick Eric Jagielo? Even he had injury problems in the minors before the Yankees gave up and shipped him away. Look at all the homegrown stars on the Yankees’ roster: Aaron Judge, Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres, Dellin Betances, Luis Severino, David Robertson and Brett Gardner stand out. Gary Sanchez is having a down year, but he’s a supremely talented hitter with a rocket arm who was an All-Star last year. Don’t foget Jordan Montgomery and Tommy Kahnle, too. The point: Yankees talent evaluators saw a lot that they liked in Bird. They still do.

2.) You’ve seen flashes: When Bird came up in 2015, fans couldn’t wait for him to replace Mark Teixiera in 2015 … only for Bird to miss the season thanks to shoulder surgery. About that: He’s been hurt a lot, you say? Yup. Right ankle surgeries also kept Bird out for a lot of 2017 and for a good chunk of 2018. But just as early as Sunday, Bird cranked two doubles, and then fans went nuts when manager Aaron Boone sat the 25-year-old the next day. The talent is there. Plus, he’s an improving defensive first baseman, though he’ll never make anyone forget that part of Teixeira’s game.

3.) You won’t like it, but … : What Boone said Thursday does make some sense. It could be that some part of Bird is fatigued. Bird has played 78 total games, including 12 rehab games in the minors, this season. He hasn’t played that many games since 2015, when he played 83. Bird has been hurt a lot. He’s hurt himself playing, not doing something stupid, so you can’t kill him for that. And though the idea that maybe Bird should have fresher legs than some may hold weight, think about when you take a longer-than-usual layoff from the gym. You feel good coming back the first couple days. Then you remember how sore you get and returning to the gym gets harder for a few days, until you’re in a routine. Sure, you want to say Bird’s a professional athlete and he should be handle it, you’re probably right. But he’s also human and not everyone recovers the same. Maybe 2018 won’t be Bird’s year. But he’s undoubtedly their most talented first base option.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.