When the Yankees announced earlier this month that Greg Bird would be lost for the season because of shoulder surgery, the impact was felt for a number of reasons.
Despite the fact the Yankees were prepared to send Bird to Triple-A and serve as injury insurance for Mark Teixeira, the fanbase was vocal in wanting their young slugger to be part of the picture for 2016 after he made such a big splash late last summer.
And with the oft-injured Teixeira entering the final year of his contract, the fans weren’t the only ones able to put two and two together, even if Bird began this year at Scranton/Wilkes Barre.