Greg Bird opts for free agency over Yankees’ Triple-A assignment

The Yankees’ Opening Day first baseman is free as a Bird now.

Greg Bird, whose pinstriped tenure was decimated by multiple injuries, cleared waivers and is now a free agent. The Yankees announced he elected to hit the open market in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Bird, 27, made an impressive debut as an injury replacement for Mark Teixeira in 2015, with 11 homers in 157 at-bats. The lefty-swinging first baseman appeared in just 140 games over the next four seasons, however, including 10 in 2019, with a paltry slash line of .194/.287/.388 over that span.

Bird was designated for assignment on Nov. 20, the same day the Yanks released oft-injured outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury. The Colorado native missed all of 2016 following surgery, and he’s also missed significant chunks of time with ankle and foot injuries.

The Yankees kept first baseman Mike Ford, who hit 12 homers in 163 plate appearances last season, on their 40-man roster instead of Bird. They also presently have Luke Voit and multi-positional All-Star DJ LeMahieu as options at the position for 2020.