Tyler Austin

Yankees first baseman Tyler Austin. (Brad Penner | USA Today Sports)

It was the middle of the afternoon Sunday. While many his age were indulging in artery-clogging and liver-battering festivities that come with watching the NFL playoffs, Tyler Austin was on the way to his second workout.

His second workout of the day, that is.

"I'm not going into this settling for a backup role," Austin told NJ Advance Media in a phone interview.

With first base open for the Yankees for the first time since 2009 after Mark Teixeira's retirement, Austin and Greg Bird will start their battle for the job next month when the team reports to Tampa, Fla., for spring training.

General manager Brian Cashman said in November the team hopes that Bird, a former big-time prospect who's had brief major league success, will win.

But in his next breath, he let Bird know it won't be easy.

"Tyler Austin's going to have a lot to say about that, I'm sure," Cashman said.

OFFSEASON WORKOUTS

Austin said he identified two big parts of his game he wants to improve this offseason.

The first was his footwork and agility at first base.

Austin was a corner infielder before the Yankees moved him to right field at age 20 in 2012. At that position, Baseball America ranked him the game's 77th best prospect going into the 2013 campaign. But after injuries and inconsistency at the plate as he reached the higher levels of the minors, the Yankees moved Austin to first base full time in the Arizona Fall League in 2015 and he spent all last season there.

The switch worked. Austin played good enough defense and clobbered the ball at Double-A and Triple-A. He forced his first major-league promotion in August.

Now Austin wants to stick there and he sees ways he could get better with the glove.

He added that he's also trying to get stronger. The Georgia native said he's been working out with long-time friend and personal trainer Brandon Thomas at Team 3 near where he grew up in Conyers, Ga.

Austin also spent about 10 days in Tampa at the team's training complex working with coaches, particularly fielding coordinator Jody Reed. He's heading back to Tampa in about a week and staying there until spring training.

MOTIVATION

Austin is aware that some might not think he'll be a big-league regular, he said. He's heard doubts now and then. He's seen his name go from the near the top of Yankees prospects lists to off them completely, particularly after the team designated him for assignment before last season.

He's fine with it, he said. In fact, he said, it pushes him.

"Looking at the last few years for me, they've ben tough," he said. "The past year has been a lot different. It's just been tough knowing i'm a better player than (the statistics) i've put up. It definitely motivates me to be the best i can be and get better every day. When i get tired in my workouts, I think about all of that and I end up working out longer than I even planned."

GETTING BACK HIS GROOVE

Austin had some success in his two-month major-league stint. He clubbed five homers, including one in his first at-bat. He also hit a walk-off home run. The Yankees used him in first base and in right field.

But he also hit just .241 and struck out 36 times in 90 plate appearances, including a stretch where he struck out 11 times in a row.

Austin said he lost feel for his approach at the plate early on, trying too hard to impress with his power than aiming to hit the ball back up the middle. Austin worked closely with hitting coaches Alan Cockrell and Marcus Thames, who identified some issues with Austin's swing, which he said got back on track toward the last couple weeks of the year.

"My head was flying out, swinging at everything -- in and out of the zone," Austin said. "That's not me. That was just me trying to hit a home run every time up and trying to pull anything I could. When I'm right, I can hit the ball out of the park using all parts of the field."

Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.