It’s been a while since former New York Yankees first baseman Greg Bird suited up for an MLB game. His last big-league appearance came with the Bombers on April 13, 2019. However, that doesn’t mean the former top prospect isn’t still trying to resurrect his professional career.
Bird is playing for the Melbourne Aces of the Australian Baseball League. He’s signed on to participate for the 2023-24 season and has been tearing the cover off the ball through 25 games played.
The left-handed slugger is hitting .282/.386/.553 with seven home runs, 28 RBI and 12 runs scored in 85 at-bats. Those seven dingers currently lead the league. Here’s footage of the most recent ball he put into orbit, via the Melbourne Aces’ X account (formerly Twitter).
GREG BIRD.
NO REGARD FOR HUMANITY.
He hits this halfway to the coastline for his league-leading 7th homer and we take a 5-1 lead in the 3rd! #Aces
Melbourne officially announced the signing of Bird on October 17. He said the following about playing for the Aces and being in Australia, via the team’s press release:
“It’s a place I have always wanted to visit and to go and see the country while playing the game I love will be amazing. I appreciate the Melbourne Aces for giving me this opportunity and look forward to working with guys like Jon Deeble, Pete Moylan, and Yankees legend Graeme Lloyd. I’ve heard about the northerly winds that blow over there in Melbourne and I look forward to having them behind my back. I can’t wait for the season to start.”
Based on his early-season results, it looks like Bird has certainly been taking advantage of those Melbourne winds.
The Twists and Turns of Greg Bird’s Career
Bird was selected in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of Grandview High School in Aurora, Colorado. He made his big-league debut as a 22-year-old on August 13, 2015.
At the time of his promotion, Bird was seen as a top organizational talent and the potential successor to long-time big-leaguer Mark Teixeira at first base. MLB.com ranked him as the Yankees’ fourth-best prospect in 2015.
Bird’s first taste of MLB action was encouraging. He hit .261/.343/.529 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI in 46 games played. But unfortunately, that’s when the injury bug began to bite repeatedly.
He missed all of 2016 because of shoulder surgery. Bird appeared in just 48 games in 2017 because of an ankle injury that eventually required surgery. A plantar fascia tear also limited him to 10 games in 2019.
Since then, Bird has spent time in the Dominican Winter League, Triple-A and the Independent League, according to his Baseball-Reference page. He appeared to have a resurgence while playing in Triple-A for the Colorado Rockies, hitting 27 homers with 91 RBI in 2021. That landed him back with the Yankees in 2022. He played 59 games in Triple-A for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, struggling to a .679 OPS.
Bird appeared in 11 games for the Quebec Capitals of the Frontier League in 2023 before signing with the Aces.
Bird Made Some Postseason Memories With the Yankees
Greg Bird’s pro baseball career up to this point is the prototypical “What could’ve been?” situation. If injuries didn’t derail him, who knows what he could be doing right now?
The first baseman never did the big things expected of him in the Bronx, but he didn’t leave without making an October impact. New York was one win away from the 2017 World Series, ultimately losing in the ALCS to the Houston Astros in seven games. Bird made his mark during that postseason run, appearing in 13 games for New York.
He hit .244/.426/.512 across 54 plate appearances. Those numbers were accompanied by three homers, six RBI and five runs scored. Two of those homers came in New York’s ALDS victory over Cleveland. The final one came in the ALCS against Houston, which you can see below via MLB’s YouTube channel.
Will Bird get another shot in affiliated baseball? That remains to be seen. If he continues to tear up the Australian Baseball League like he has, though, one would hope there’s an MLB team willing to give him an opportunity.
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Ex-Yankees Top Prospect Is Tearing It up in the Australian Baseball League