NEW YORK — It’s Bye Bye Birdie for the New York Yankees.
First baseman Greg Bird became a free agent Wednesday after he cleared waivers and refused an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Bird, who turned 27 on Nov. 9, debuted on Aug. 13, 2015, and hit .261 with 11 homers and 31 RBIs in 46 games. He missed all of 2016 following surgery that Feb. 2 to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, an injury originally sustained that May with Double-A Trenton.
Bird, who starred at Grandview High School in Aurora, returned to bat .