Detroit Tigers: Taking a flyer on Greg Bird

The Texas Rangers just DFA Greg Bird. Should the Detroit Tigers take a look at Bird or pass?

To make room for Derek Dietrich, the Texas Rangers designed for assignment first baseman Greg Bird. The Detroit Tigers just lost C.J Cron to the IL for an extended period of time and the Tigers decided to call up Willi Castro in his place.

The idea according to Ron Gardenhire is to use Castro as a utility guy. Niko Goodrum will still play short with Dawel Lugo at third and Jeimer Canderlario playing first with Harold Castro and Willi Castro getting some starts from time to time.

It leaves however, a large power gap in the lineup and a lack of a true first baseman on the roster outside of Miguel Cabrera, who is better suited for DH.  For some Tigers fans, the idea of Lugo playing everything is not exactly the greatest thought in the world. Defensively, Canderlario is one of the better third baseman in the American League.

Why Greg Bird?

He has a career iso rate of.213 so there is power and bats left-handed, suitable for Comerica Park. Bird’s power outside of Yankee Stadium, isn’t bad, 11 career home runs. Against lefties, he walks at 11% clip and he has a wRC+ of 121.

Why Not Greg Bird?

He can’t stay healthy, playing a total of 186 games since entering the majors in 2015. His exit velocity has continued to drop every year and his hard hit percentage has also dropped.

The “why not” outweighs the “why” on Greg Bird.  The question that I have is why not Frank Schwindel? Well, if you read between the tea leaves, Ron Gardenhire since summer camp, has been a fan of Castro. So, for now, we will see how this setup will work.  But without Cron in the lineup, if the Detroit decides not to bring up Schwindel and go outside of the organization, there are several options to chose from.