If the New York Yankees need any more reasoning to go out and find a first baseman via the trade market, they now have it. First baseman Greg Bird will have surgery on his right ankle that constantly kept him sidelined for most of the season and limited him to just 19 games on the year. MLB.com's Bryan Hoch first broke the news.
Bird's issues with the ankles started in early May and led to a trip to the disabled list. He would then return in early June to action with a rehab assignment, but he suffered a setback with the ankle and with more discomfort landed back on the disabled list. Now a month removed from that and after being evaluated by doctors, Bird opted to have surgery to fix the issue.
A six-week timetable pushes Bird's return into around mid-September and that's if everything even went smoothly, which hasn't happened this year. Given he is just 24 and New York's first baseman of the future, the safer bet is New York holding him out for the remainder of the season and then let him come back for the job after a full offseason to recover.
In the meantime, New York now has to find a first baseman. Given the club's desire for a short-term fix at the position and good production, a trade with the Oakland Athletics to land Yonder Alonso makes the most sense. With the power he has found in himself this year and that he is a free agent at the end of the season, he is the perfect fit for New York.