Reports: Yankees to call up prospect Greg Bird to back up Mark Teixeira
The New York Yankees will call up first base prospect Greg Bird before Thursday’s game, according to multiple reports. Jack Curry of the YES Network first reported the news, followed by Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
Bird, 22, was a fifth-round pick in 2011 and is ranked by MLB.com as the Yankees’ No. 4 prospect. He began the year in Double A and was promoted to Triple A in early July. Bird batted .301 with a .500 slugging percentage in 34 games at Triple A. On Aug. 10, Bird was named International League Player of the Week after batting .358 with 10 RBIs.
The Yankees were left without a backup first baseman when they designated Garrett Jones for assignment on Wednesday. Manager Joe Girardi told reporters that middle infielder Brendan Ryan was the team’s backup first baseman.
• Watch: Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo goes up on tarp to catch foul ball
Bird also drew praise from teammate Alex Rodriguez during spring training.
The Yankees have lost six of their last seven games, scoring a total of nine runs in that span, and have forfeited their lead in the AL East to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees held a seven-game lead in the division as late as July 28 but now sit 1/2 game back of the Jays.
- Dan Gartland
