PT TOMORROW: AL East—Looking ahead to 2019: lineups

New York Yankees

While the Yankees will enter 2019 with most of their major roles settled, first base is a notable exception. Despite a clear path to playing time, Gregory Bird (1B, NYY) has not been able to take advantage, to the point where he has recently begun to lose time—even against right-handed pitching—to Luke Voit (1B, NYY). While a criminally low 13% hit rate has been part to blame for Bird’s struggles over the past month, his xBA of .225 suggests that Bird’s issues go beyond bad luck. Bird displays some decent power skills, though nothing like he showed when he burst on the scene in 2015, and his contact rate leaves something to be desired.

With Tyler Austin (1B, MIN) now in Minnesota, there is an avenue for Voit to retain a...

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