Jake Bird lasted less than one full week with the New York Yankees. It was disastrous.
The 29-year-old relief pitcher is already being demoted to Triple-A.
His tenure with the Major League Baseball club began on July 31. He was sent down on August 5.
The New York Yankees got fleeced.
New York made a move at the trade deadline to bolster the bullpen. It traded Roc Riggio and Ben Shields to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Bird.
Riggio was considered the No. 10-ranked prospect in the Yankees organization with hype growing by the day. He was promoted from Rookie ball to the Double-A level this season at 23 years old and slashed .261/.335/.542 in 40 games along with 11 home runs and 28 RBIs. His .939 OPS is equally as impressive.
There is a very good chance that Roc Riggio will be the starting second baseman for the Rockies in 2026. All he does is hit.
Shields was ranked as the No. 28 prospect in New York’s farm system. The 26-year-old is not quite as exciting as Riggio but a 3.10 ERA with 46 strikeouts on the Double-A level will absolutely play.
Both prospects have the potential to not only make the Bigs, but to stay there for a long time.
It is nearly impossible to know whether a middle-tier prospect will pan out in baseball. Shields and Riggio could be All-Stars. They could be irrelevant. We’ll see!
Jake Bird is not Him.
Regardless of how things go for the Rockies, it does not appear as though the Yankees won this trade. Jake Bird was demoted to Triple-A after just three appearances.
He gave up a grand slam to Kyle Stowers, which helped to blow a 9-4 lead en route to a 13-12 loss on Friday.
He gave up a walk-off home run to Jace Jung to give the Rangers the win on Monday.
It does not get much worse than that. Jake Bird got off to a disastrous start with the New York Yankees and got sent down. The Colorado Rockies already won the trade. Brutal.