When the news came out in February that Greg Bird would miss the 2016 season with shoulder surgery, it became clear that the New York Yankees were very thin at first base behind injury prone Mark Teixeira. With career underachiever Dustin Ackley next in line behind Tex, reporters and fans began scouring for an upgrade.
One of the more obvious options was catcher Brian McCann, who had 26 games played at the position for the Yankees over the previous two seasons. Surprisingly, the 32-year-old backstop was adamant that he wasn’t a good choice to play first.
He told Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media before the start of spring training:
I don’t think they want me over there.