By the end of last season, it seemed like the transition from Mark Teixeira to the next generation of first baseman would be relatively simple, as far as those transitions usually go. Greg Bird, filling in for Teixeira as he recovered from a freak leg fracture, hit .261/.343/.529 (137 wRC+) with 11 home runs in the 178 plate appearances he had with the club last year, and with that he graduated as a prospect. With Mark Teixeira returning in 2016, Bird would get some more development time in Triple-A, but the expectation was that he would go into 2017 as the favorite for the starting spot as Teixeira's contract expired.
A way-too-early look at the 2017 first base free agent class
