File photos

Randy Miller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — There was a rare in-game Greg Bird sighting in the sixth inning of the Yankees' 8-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.

Once again, it ended in disappointment.

With the Yankees down a run, the benched first baseman was called off the bench for his first game appearance in a week to pinch-hit for shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria with a runner on first base and two down.

The lefty-swinging Bird popped out the dugout with bat in hand hoping to do some damaging against Rays righty Chaz Roe.

In a very different way, Bird struck out again, this time without even stepping foot in the Tropicana Field batter’s box.

Don't Edit

Bird's being announced as a pinch-hitter immediately led to Rays manager Kevin Cash heading to the mound to make a pitching change. When lefty Jose Alvarado was brought in, Yankees manager Aaron Boone countered by pinch-hitting right-handed hitter Gleyber Torres for Bird, who ended up appearing in the box score but did not play.

It’s been that kind of year for Bird, a 25-year-old began spring training thinking this would finally be the year he’d stay healthy and become the star first baseman that the Yankees thought had.

Instead, it’s been one nightmare after another for Bird, who still hasn’t done much since making a big late-season splash in 11 homers in 46 games as a rookie in 2015.

Don't Edit

After missing all of 2016 recovering from shoulder surgery and then most of the 2017 season due to a right ankle injury that led to another surgery, Bird experienced more issues with the same ankle late into 2018 spring training and ended up having yet another procedure done.

Somehow, Bird and the Yankees stayed positive.

He worked his way back by May 26, then hit just .186 in his first 26 games.

He and the Yankees stayed positive.

When Bird continuing struggling for another two months, he stayed positive.

The Yankees didn’t.

Luke Voit was acquired in a July trade from St. Louis to add depth at first base, and when the husky right-handed hitter was given an opportunity to play and made the most of it in an unimaginable ways, he became and stayed the starting first baseman.

Don't Edit

Bird dropped to Voit’s backup initially, then all the way to third string when Boone started playing switch-hitter Neil Walker at first against some right-handed starters.

Voit’s 11 homers and 28 RBI in 36 games and Walker’s big hits have led to Bird becoming a forgotten man.

In the Yankees’ last 12 games, Bird has no starts and one at-bat, a mopping-up RBI groundout pinch-hitting for Aaron Judge in the eighth inning of a 10-1 win over the Red Sox on Sept. 19.

Don't Edit

Now what?

Bird isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season, so he’s Yankees property for three more seasons … if they decide to keep him around to give him another shot in 2019 to try again to fulfill his potential.

What’s Bird thinking?

How are his spirits?

Bird opened up about his season and future in a 15-minute Q & A with NJ Advance Media.

Here’s what Bird had to say:

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Adam Hunger | Getty Images

How is your mental state? Hardly ever playing has to be tough. Are you upset? Down in the dumps? More determined?

Bird: “My spirits are up. I want to do better. It sucks. I didn’t want to do bad … like ever.”

Don't Edit

John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Have you had any heart-to-hearts with anyone in the last month? Dad? Mom?

Bird: “Nothing too crazy. Sometimes you’ve got to suck it up and deal with it and learn from it. That’s what I do. I learn from it. I learn. You learn from experience just from going through it.”

Don't Edit

Jim Mone | AP

What have you learned?

Bird: “You have to keep going. There’s been times where it sucks and I’m down on myself or whatever, but I’ve got good people around me. I’m just going to keep working and keep my head up. This season is still going. It’s far from over and I’m still here.”

Don't Edit

Rich Schultz | AP

Have your struggles at the plate had anything to do with your March foot surgery? You've said that you were healthy. Did your foot ever completely heal?

Bird: “I think first and foremost, obviously the reason is I wasn’t playing well and we’re at a point where you’ve got to go out there and perform. That’s the biggest thing as far as I’m why I’m not playing. Surgeries take the offseason to completely heal. Surgeries take time. In baseball when you’re doing something every day … Even right now, even though I’m not playing – I’m not starting – I get ready. You know what I mean? There are things that I do every day, so you can’t totally not do anything. What’s frustrating is sometimes you can’t quite get the work that you’d like to get in, but surgeries … I’ve been through it and it just takes time. You have to be patient with it. Some are quicker than others, but each one is unique.”

Don't Edit

Patrick Semansky | AP

You're hitting under .200 and hardly playing. You've missed a ton of time with injuries. But you did hit some balls well just before being benched. You almost hit a game-changing grand slam against Detroit on a long flyball that was caught at the wall. Has it been tough for you to stay confident through all this adversity?

Bird: “Long-term, it’ll be fine. I can hit. I can play baseball. It sucks a little bit right now, but what can you do? It’s reality. It wasn’t a grand slam, so … It comes down to that. You have to perform. As a first baseman, I have to hit. You know? Defense is one thing, but you have to hit That’s a position where they need offense. They’re getting it now. Luke’s been doing a great job. I’m happy for him and I’m happy for us because we want to win. I want to win.”

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Wendell Cruz | USA TODAY Sports

Have you been thinking or worrying about your future with the Yankee?

Bird: “You have to get there first. You have to get through this year first. That’s the biggest thing. I think that’s the challenge. Stay in the now. Stay in the now.”

Don't Edit

Nick Wass | AP

You missed most of the first two months of 2018 rehabbing your way back from March surgery, then never got consistent at the plate after returning. You have 11 homers in 266 at-bats, but the other stats aren't great ... the .195 batting average, the ..285 on-base percentage, the 669 OPS. How would you describe your season?

Bird: “I think this year’s been kind of up and down, which sucks. But what are you going to do? One thing (Mark Teixeira) told me last year was basically keep trusting and believing in yourself. When you know what you are, that’s all that matters. Just don’t lose sight of that. You know what you are and the type of player you are and what you can do. Don’t lose sight of that.”

Don't Edit

Jim Mone | AP

You had some big hits after surgery last year, then you said you that felt good coming into spring training. What happened?

Bird: “I was doing really good last year until Game 2 of the Astros series in Houston. I stepped on first base funny running out a groundball. We only played five more games after that. I re-tweaked it, not where I had the surgery, but this other spot where I ended up having this (year’s) surgery. I re-did something because I remember that wasn’t normal. Then in the offseason it got better like a lot of things do when you rest and you’re not going every day to rehabs and physical therapy. It was getting better, so I figured I’d go to spring training and see where I was at. I always think in baseball you have to give it a chance and see where you’re at.”

Don't Edit

Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

What's going through your mind and your future with the Yankees beyond 2018?

Bird: “I want to be the first baseman. Badly. I think I can do a great job. I enjoy it here. I like it here. It’s the only thing I’ve known, so it’s always what I wanted to do. It’s what I’ve kind of always envisioned myself being. But I’ve got to play better. That’s it. You ain’t going to be the first baseman hitting .190.”

Don't Edit

McCutchen already thinking Yankees could be long-term fit

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Jim McIsaac | Getty Images

Looking back, can you put on a finger on why you haven't hit better? What went wrong?

Bird: “I didn’t get hits. I didn’t get enough of them. That’s it, and that’s baseball sometimes.”

Don't Edit

Al Bello | Getty Images

Why weren't you getting hits? Was it too many at-bats? Do you feel a little snake-bitten? Besides the near grand slam, you hit some balls well that were caught before you were benched.

Bird: “It’s the luck of the draw. Some of its luck. Whatever you want to call it, I don’t care. But if you’re good and hit the ball hard, good things usually happen. That’s why they track all the things with the exit velocities. When you hit the ball hard, good things happen.”

Don't Edit

Noah Murray | AP

Have you been comparing this year's exit velo numbers to past years?

Bird: “I don’t think I’ve been hitting the ball as hard as I normally do, but what are you going to do. You’ve got to get it done. That’s what it come down to. You’ve GOT to get it done.”

Don't Edit

Omar Rawlings | Getty Images

You've bunted for a few hits to beat the shift. Do you want to do more of that?

Bird: “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t like to bunt. Those hits didn’t take away the shift. The just put the third baseman at short. I hit a groundball to short against the Mets and I was thrown out. It was Jose Bautista making the play. I took off my helmet, took off my leg guard and handed it to (first base coach) Reggie Willits and said, ‘Man, Reg, I finally hit the ball on the ground the other way and guess who’s standing there? He’s not a shortstop. He’s an outfielder playing third today, but he’s standing at shortstop.’ How fun was that?”

Don't Edit

Kim Klement | USA TODAY Sports

Are you thinking you need a good finish to 2018 to get back in good grace with the organization? Do you worry your struggles this season will entice them to spend money on a first baseman in the offseason or maybe stick with Luke Voit?

Bird: “Your future is kind of what you make it. You make your future. What you think tomorrow is going to be, you can ultimately make it. Are things going to happen? Yeah. And there’s always competition. This is the big leagues. That’s the challenge in this. You have to do what you do and not worry about everything else. That’s it. That’s 2018. That’s the challenge in everything we do. And in this environment here, New York is a little different. But can I handle it? Yeah. I’ve handled it before and I’m not going to get down now.”

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

NJ Advance Media

Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.