Yankees Should Actually Consider Inviting Greg Bird Back to Spring Training After He Cleared Waivers

The New York Yankees finally said goodbye to potentially their most disappointing top prospect since Jesus Montero this week.

Spurred on by the emergence of Luke Voit and versatility of DJ LeMahieu, coupled with his own poor play and injury woes, the Yankees DFA'd first baseman Greg Bird this week and placed him on waivers, where he went unclaimed.

Just to clarify, it certainly seems Greg Bird is a bad baseball player. He hasn't hit over .200 since the Obama administration. He is constantly hurt, and his injuries are almost always serious. His career WAR is 0.1. Having said that, his career in MLB is far from over.

For all his many faults as a player, Bird still has a power stroke; the only concern has been consistently making contact, both because of a weakened swing, and the fact that he's never on the field. If he's shown tangible improvement, why not bring him back for Spring Training and see if he's tapped into the vast reservoir of talent he has?

The odds of Bird suddenly snapping back to 2015 and becoming a half-decent player are pretty remote, but non-roster invites in Spring Training are all about taking chances on a bunch of lottery tickets. Why not roll the dice on Bird, and simply cut bait with him if he still can't hit a fastball?