Yankees bolster bullpen with Jake Bird ahead of trade deadline

The Yankees have made another move, their fifth trade of the deadline, acquiring reliever Jake Bird from the Colorado Rockies. The Yankees shipped back their No. 10 prospect, second baseman Roc Riggio, and left-handed pitcher Ben Shields, their No. 28 prospect. 

Bird isn't having the greatest season with a 4.73 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 26.3% K rate, and 62 strikeouts in 52 innings pitched. However, Bird was pitching at Coors Field for half his games, which is known as the hardest park in the MLB to pitch in, so his ERA doesn't mean much. 

Getting Bird paired up with Matt Blake, one of the best pitching coaches in baseball, should do him wonders, plus he already has elite strikeout numbers, which the Yankees' bullpen desperately needed. 

Birds' pitch repertoire includes a sweeper that he throws 40% of the time, the sinker 34%, the curveball 23%, the cutter 3%, and the fastball just 1% of the time. His metrics are solid according to Basball Savnat, highlighted by a breaking run value in the 88th percentile. 

The best part about Bird is that he is under team control through the 2029 season. The Yankees will now hopefully turn their attention towards acquiring a starting pitcher with less than two hours until the trade deadline at 6 p.m. ET. 

My thoughts on the trade: I really like this trade for the Yankees. The bullpen now has an entirely new look after acquiring Bednar and Bird, and most importantly, they both have very solid swing-and-miss stuff. I can’t wait to see what Matt Blake can do with Bird. The Yankees are now most likely done adding to the bullpen and will hopefully look to add a starter. 

The relievers now available for the Yankees: 

David Bednar, RHP

Devin Williams, RHP

Luke Weaver, RHP

Jake Bird, RHP

Tim Hill, RHP

Jonathan Loaisiga, RHP

Ian Hamilton, RHP

Also in the mix: Brent Headrick, RHP; Yerry De Los Santos, RHP; JT Brubaker

Injured list: Mark Leiter Jr., RHP

Injured list: Fernando Cruz, RHP