Quick Hits: Today in MLB, 3/27/2018

B-b-b-Bird is Not the Word: Yank's First Baseman Out 6-8 weeks

Yankee's slugger Greg Bird will start yet another season on the disabled list due to injury.

The New York Yankees will have a hole to fill in their lineup as projected starter, Greg Bird, was diagnosed with a broken bone spur in his ankle that will require surgery. Bird, a fifth round draft pick out of Aurora, Colorado, has always had enormous potential (he was the recipient of the Yankee's Kevin Lawn Award in 2013 after putting up a .288/.428/.511 statline for the Class A Charleston Riverdogs), but has struggled to stay healthy throughout his major league career. Bird missed the entire 2016 season as he was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder that would require surgery. Though he managed to make a full recovery from the shoulder injury (a feat easier said than done), Bird ran into the injury bug again in 2017, this time to the os trigonum bone in his right foot. Electing to have surgery to remove the bone, Bird would miss 103 games in 2017, but did return in time to hit a thrilling go-ahead home run off former Yankee Andrew Miller in Game 3 of the ALDS vs. the Cleveland Indians.

The injury certainly comes at an inopportune time for the Yanks as they released 1B Adam Lind just ten days prior to Bird's injury diagnosis. Though Lind was only batting .200 through spring training for the Yankees after being signed in early March, he did hit a robust .303 last year with the Washington Nationals, cracking out 14 home runs in limited playing time off the bench. With Bird out an estimated 6-8 weeks, the Yankees will have to juggle some of their infield around to fill the void. First base prospect Tyler Austin and newcomer Neil Walker are expected to fill in for Bird (though Walker was signed primarily to split second base duties with Tyler Wade).

Holland Cracks Opening Day Roster

Lefty Derek Holland was officially added to the 40-man roster for the Giants after signing a minor league deal with the club in mid-February.

With co-aces Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija succumbing to injury before the season even began, the San Francisco Giants will break camp with longtime MLB veteran Derek Holland slotted into their starting rotation. The man affectionately nicknamed "Dutch Oven" by fans (no, not for those reasons) looked like a steal for the White Sox, who had signed him to a one-year deal, through April and May of last season, posting a 2.37 ERA through his first ten starts. However, things went south fast and he put up an ERA over 9.00 in June, July, and August. Altogether, he would finish 2017 with an ugly 6.20 ERA over 29 games (26 starts) and was released in early September. It has been a tough stretch for the talented left-handed starter as he has struggled to find the form that led him to a 38-21 record from 2011-2013. Over the past three seasons, Holland has compiled an 18-26 record with a 5.35 ERA across 301.0 innings. Injuries and a decline in velocity (his 91.1 fastball average in 2017 was the lowest of his career) are most likely the culprits behind his waning usefulness, but he has looked solid this Spring Training, posting a 4.05 ERA over 20.0 innings with more than a strikeout per inning. Giant's management is probably hoping that he can duplicate his early season success from last season until Bumgarner and Samardzija can make it back off the shelf. If he doesn't, the chances of San Francisco making a playoff run in a loaded NL West go from slim to none with the Dodgers, Rockies, and Diamondbacks all expected to contend for the division title.

Fish Out of Water! Nicolino Snagged Off Waivers by Reds

Lefty Justin Nicolino will hope to latch on to a rebuilding Cincinnati ball club in need of talent.

Pitcher Justin Nicolino is on the move as he was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds in a relatively low-key move this past Sunday. Nicolino, formerly one of the top prospects in the Marlin's system, has struggled to translate his potential to big league success; through 50 career appearances for the Marlins (33 starts), the lefty owns a 10-13 record with a 4.65 ERA with an ugly 86/60 K-to-BB ratio. In 2017, Nicolino posted a 2-3 record while allowing 66 hits over just 48.0 innings pitched. Ouch! That being said, it wasn't long ago that Nicolino was one of the top prospects not just in the Marlin's system, but in all of baseball. The lefty was one of the headlines involved in the massive salary dump by the Marlins in late 2012 as the Fish traded Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio, John Buck, Josh Johnson, and Mark Buehrle to the Toronto Blue Jays for Yunel Escobar, Jake Marisnick, Jeff Mathis, Henderson Alvarez, Adeiny Hechavarria, Andrew DeSclafani, and Nicolino. Should he remain on the team, Nicolino will most likely see time as a middle reliever for a rebuilding Cincinnati ball club.

Images and video are courtesy of MLB.com.