Greg Bird slumping again, and Yankees finally seemed worried

Yankees first baseman Greg Bird’s batting average is down to .202 after another bad series in Miami.

MIAMI — There’s still time for the Yankees to do something about the lack of consistent production that they’re getting at first base from Greg Bird.

There’s still more than a week to go before the Aug. 31 trade deadline, the one in which all players being moved must first clear waivers.

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It wouldn’t be surprising if GM Brian Cashman thinks long and hard about bringing in someone.

Or maybe they just hand the job to Neil Walker.

By now, they were so sure Bird would be all that and more.

He’s finally healthy.

They were wrong.

Turns out staying off the disabled list isn’t the only thing keeping Bird from living up to expectations as a star in the making.

After showing a couple more flashes of what he could be last weekend – Bird hit two homers, including a game slam – the lanky left-handed hitter had another terrible series against the Miami Marlins.

Bird didn’t get the ball out of the infield going 0-for-4 with a strikeout on Wednesday night when the Yankees were trounced 9-3 at Marlins Park and the night before he was 0-for-6 with three whiffs in a 2-1, 12-inning win.

This 0-for-10 has his season average down to .202, which is a low point since he was hitting the same through July 8.

Bird does have 11 homers and 35 RBI in 72 games since he returned from spring ankle surgery on May 26, but his .689 OPS and batting average are major disappointments. 

Finally, the Yankees are admitting that they’re concerned.

Manager Aaron Boone came off as being frustrated when he talked about Bird after Wednesday’s game.

Asked if he’s concerned, Boone said, “Yeah, we’ve seen just in and out at authority through the zone and it’s hard to put our finger on it. I thought we saw a couple games there at home where I thought he was really impacting the ball. There was some force through the zone, and then here (in Miami) it’s been a little bit more back to not that life through the zone.

“We’ve got to be able to put our finger on it and help him find that consistently. I knew he’s working hard at it, but we’ve got to start finding that more on a consistent basis because when he’s impacting it through the zone he’s obviously dynamic with his ability to control the strike zone.”

But that’s just been something that since he’s come back has very much been in and out.”

It’s been more out than in, and if this keeps up, it’s a problem the Yankees need to address.

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.