Greg Bird’s 2016 season is over before it even began, as the first baseman is set to undergo shoulder surgery Tuesday to repair a torn right labrum, first reported by The Post.
The 23-year-old, who helped keep the Yankees’ offense afloat after he was called up to replace the injured Mark Teixeira in August, aggravated an injury suffered last May while he was with Double-A Trenton that landed him on the disabled list for a month.
He felt pain in the area again while working out in Tampa and was sent to New York for tests, which revealed the tear. Dr. David Altchek will perform the procedure at Hospital for Special Surgery.
General manager Brian Cashman said Bird complained after the season that he was still dealing with discomfort in the area, but both team physician Christopher Ahmad and Altchek noted no change in his MRI exam and recommended rest and rehab.
“When he ramped up his activities the last few weeks, he felt pain again,” Cashman said, and this time both doctors recommended surgery.
The loss of Bird might not impact the look of the Yankees’ Opening Day roster, as Cashman was consistent throughout the offseason that despite Bird’s performance in the majors last year, he was going to start 2016 at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre because of the return to health of Teixeira at first base and Alex Rodriguez at DH.
Even so, given the age and injury concerns of both Rodriguez and Teixeira, Bird figured to be called upon to come to The Bronx at some point during the season.
In 178 plate appearances with the Yankees a year ago, Bird hit .261 with 11 homers, 31 RBIs and an .871 OPS.
And the injury doesn’t just knock out an ideal safety net if Teixeira or Rodriguez gets hurt, it also deprives Bird of another full season of development and could strip him of some power whenever he returns.
“We’ll see,” Cashman said about whether the Yankees could expect Bird to maintain his power when he comes back. “You can’t rule anything out. The operating surgeons are optimistic that with a successful surgery, he will return to play in 2017 at his normal form.”
In the meantime, Bird was “waiting in the wings” to fill in at the major league level according to Cashman, who will now look for a first baseman for SWB as Teixeira enters the final year of his contract.
In terms of their current roster, Dustin Ackley looks to be the only viable option to back up Teixeira at first base. The Yankees could make a trade for insurance or look at free agents such as former Met Ike Davis, as well as Pedro Alvarez, formerly of the Pirates, and Justin Morneau, who was most recently with the Rockies.
The Yankees’ depth at the position is weak, as evidenced by the fact Tyler Austin, who has primarily been an outfielder throughout his minor league career, was mainly used as a first baseman while in the Arizona Fall League this offseason because of an excess of outfielders.