Greg Bird was scheduled to be in today’s starting lineup against the Braves, but he ended up being a late scratch with a “sore right foot.” At this time, it’s unclear whether this is a new injury or if Bird has been dealing with this for awhile. If it’s the latter, then that could explain why he hasn’t been having a very good spring. One thing to note is that this is being called a foot injury, rather than an ankle injury. It was his right ankle that he had surgery on last year.
The Yankees sent Bird back to Tampa to be examined by their medical staff, and they’ve decided to send him for additional testing later today.
Greg Bird had an initial examination with a team doctor in Tampa. He will undergo further diagnostic tests today, including a CT scan and MRI.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 24, 2018
Hopefully the MRI and CT scan are just precautionary and we will hear good news soon. If Bird does need to start the season on the disabled list, then Billy McKinney, Tyler Austin, or Miguel Andujar would likely make the team. In retrospect, maybe the Yankees should have held on to Adam Lind a little bit longer.
After missing the entire 2016 season with a right shoulder labrum tear, and missing most of last season with the ankle injury, it looked like the Yankees would finally have a healthy Greg Bird in the lineup. I can’t even imagine how frustrated Bird will feel if this turns out to be a serious injury. We’ll keep you updated as any additional news comes in, but for now all we can do is hope for the best.
Update:
It sounds like this is a recent injury after all.
Brian Cashman on Greg Bird: “I’m worried about it.” Bird told Cashman that his foot started bothering him after playing nine innings... discomfort continued today.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 24, 2018
Update #2:
Update on 1B Greg Bird: Results from an MRI and CT scan taken earlier today revealed right foot inflammation. Bird is scheduled to be evaluated by foot specialist, Dr. Martin O’Malley, on Monday in New York.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) March 24, 2018
Nothing seems to be broken, so that’s good news. It took months for them to figure out what was happening with his ankle last year. Here’s hoping that they get this figured out quickly.