Mark Teixeira put together a solid 2015 season that was clouded after a wrist injury ended it early. The first baseman turned things around which has many people hopeful he can keep the success in 2016 when the Yankees will really need his improved bat. However, if he does not improve, the team is still not planning on trading the veteran despite Greg Bird waiting in the wings.
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees will not trade Teixeira this season regardless of what happens to his stats. The main reason Teixeira will stay put is the nice no-trade clause in his contract which has not chance at being waived. Teixeira has exactly one year remaining on this current contract and is set to be paid $22.5 million. Sherman reports that yes, the Yankees could opt to try and trade the first baseman should he struggle and just pay off most of his contract to the dealing team, but faith still lingers in Teixeira that he can bounce back from whatever slump he enters.
The Yankees might have faith in Teixeira, but they are patiently waiting for this season to be over so he along with CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez come off the pay roll. Until then, all three players will stay put on the roster along with Brett Gardner and potentially Andrew Miller. The youth of the Yankees will have to wait including Greg Bird. The 23-year-old found some success last year in 46 games filling in for Teixeira. HE hit 11 home runs while batting .261 in that span. Bird told the media that he hopeful to compete for the first baseman spot, something Cashman is shutting down.
"We'll have to wait and see how the rest of the roster shakes out," Cashman said, via WFAN's Mike Francesa. "He doesn't have the utility aspect of outfield (and) infield. So it's really first base (and) DH. I think more likely he'll start at Scranton. But again, as we experienced here last year, there's a lot of injuries that come our way, and it's nice to have Greg Bird waiting in the wings if something occurs."
Cashman also stated that Starlin Castro might be used more than just at the second base spot. According to Cashman via the YES Network Interview, the Yankees are open to moving Castro to third base and bringing up Rob Refsnyder for stretches of games. Refsnyder is another young player the Yankees have yet to make available in trades despite having a veteran in his spot. Cashman has been clear on the idea that for now Refsnyder is staying put, but that could change during the year depending on what happens with the roster.
