The New York Yankees made their bullpen better when they landed David Bednar from the Pirates, and now they hope it will take flight now that Jake Bird has been acquired from the Colorado Rockies.
Jack Curry of the YES Network reported the Yankees would send two prospects to the Rockies: infielder Roc Riggio and pitcher Ben Shields.
Bird is 29 years old and under team control through 2029. He has a 4.73 ERA on the year, but his expected ERA (xERA) is 3.59 and his FIP a healthy 3.45. Such is the effect of having Coors Field as your home ballpark. Bird is still averaging close to 10.5 K/9 thanks to a variety of breaking pitches.
Bird’s main pitches are his sweeper, sinker, and curveball, and he’ll break out the cutter or four-seamer in an emergency. Expect him to fill the sixth or seventh inning role held by Mark Leiter Jr. before he hit the injured list.
And, of course, the Yankees gave up next to nothing to land Jake Bird. Riggio was the team’s No. 10 prospect and recently got promoted to Double-A Somerset. He’s batting .264 with 18 home runs and 45 RBI across three levels. Could this mean the Yankees are planning to commit to Jazz Chisholm Jr. long-term?
Shields, meanwhile, was the Yankees’ No. 28 prospect. The lefty out of George Mason has a 3.03 ERA through four minor league levels in 2025 and averages 10.3 K/9.
Meanwhile, the Yankees’ continue to add where they need help the most. Leiter has no return date set, nor does Fernando Cruz. Adding Jake Bird and David Bednar could really make the Yankees’ pitching staff tough if both adjust well to New York.
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