Report: Blue Jays Add 1B Greg Bird On Minor-League Deal

The Toronto Blue Jays continue to add depth across the diamond.

Toronto's latest signing is former New York Yankees first basemen Greg Bird, who is joining the Jays on a minor-league deal per MLB.com's Keegan Matheson. Bird, alongside recently signed pitcher Joe Biagini, will join the Jays in Dunedin for spring training ahead of the minor league seasons.

With 40-man roster players unable to play due to the MLB lockout, proven veterans like Bird and Biagini with success in the upper minors could help fill out a Triple A roster ahead of the Buffalo Bisons April 5th Opening Day.

Bird debuted with the Yankees in 2015, cashing 11 homers in just 46 games while posting a .343 OBP and .871 OPS. The lefty slugger played parts of seasons from 2017-2019 for the Yankees, but never re-found his rookie season success.

With 32 career homers in 186 MLB games, the power is clearly there and it showed up again with the Colorado Rockies Triple A affiliate in 2021. In 112 games as an Albuquerque Isotope, Bird posted a .894 OPS with 27 homes last season.

Bird has a track record of success in the high minors levels, like in 2021, and has been around many MLB veterans like Brett Gardner, CC Sabathia, and Chase Headley. The veterans in the Yankees clubhouse when Bird was a rookie helped shape him as a ballplayer and person, he told The RoxPile's Kevin Henry.

“They’re always watching how they go about their business," Bird said. "I feel like I was very lucky to experience that coming up, and learn how to not only be a Major League player but a Major League person as well.”

H/T Keegan Matheson, Kevin Henry