Yankees 1B Bird has ankle surgery, out 6-8 weeks

New York Yankees first baseman Greg Bird successfully underwent ankle surgery on Tuesday that will sideline him from six to eight weeks, the team announced.

The operation was performed by foot and ankle specialist Dr. Martin O'Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, N.Y. Bird had a small broken bone spur removed.

Bird was scratched from Saturday's spring training game against the Atlanta Braves due to soreness in the foot. He underwent MRI and CT exams without any structural damage being found before the spur was diagnosed during a Monday appointment with O'Malley.

Bird, 25, injured the ankle by fouling a ball off of it during the final spring training game before the 2017 season. He later underwent surgery in July and played in just 48 games.

He batted .190 with nine homers and 28 RBIs last season.

Bird had a poor spring training, batting just .154 with one homer and 16 strikeouts in 52 at-bats.

--Field Level Media