With Greg Bird continuing to struggle at first base, Brian Cashman is being questioned by angry fans about trading Tyler Austin.
Brian Cashman has always had a tremendous amount of faith in Greg Bird, so when he traded Tyler Austin, he probably had the utmost confidence in his first basemen. Now, a few weeks later, fans are seriously wondering if trading Tyler Austin was a bad move. Will the Yankees regret this?
Before I give you my opinion, I have to admit, I am not a big Tyler Austin fan (on the field). I think when all is said and done, he is an average platoon bat with okay defense at first base. I’ve always thought the clutch home runs and fight in Boston have caused him to be overrated by Yankee fans.
Nonetheless, Austin has played pretty well with the Twins, hitting three home runs in 30 at-bats. Meanwhile, there’s a chance Greg Bird forgot how to hit the baseball. I think there are two answers to the question of regret.
The first is this: Yes, they may regret it in the short term, this season. I think they will only regret it this season because anything is better than what Greg Bird is doing. The second answer is that after this season they won’t regret it at all, and even any regret right now is small. I’m sorry to break it to the Austin fans, but he was never going to be the answer at first base.
Even if Greg Bird isn’t the answer, the Yankees will find a better player than Tyler Austin. Even if it seems like he would be the answer right now, that would be short-lived. The Yankees simply traded a player they won’t miss in the long run, for an innings eater who will help them down the stretch.
Again, Yankees fans love Tyler Austin the person (rightfully so). Yet, if you take a step back, and look at him indifferently, you will see a 26-year-old platoon bat. Yes, he would’ve been better than this Greg Bird, but the Yankees won’t miss Tyler Austin for very long.
Where is the hitting coach. Bird doesn’t seam to hustle, no fire in him.