Yankees Option Jake Bird to Triple-A Amid Struggles After 2025 MLB Deadline Trade

Five days after being acquired to boost their bullpen for the stretch run, the New York Yankees are sending Jake Bird to Triple-A.

The Yankees announced on Tuesday that they have optioned Bird to the minors after allowing multiple runs in two of his first three appearances with the club.

Per Robert Murray of FanSided, JT Brubaker was also designated for assignment by the Yankees. This move clears a roster spot with Aaron Judge expected to be activated off the injured list prior to Tuesday's game against the Texas Rangers.

Brubaker has a 3.38 ERA with 10 strikeouts and nine walks over 16 innings in 12 appearances this season.

The Yankees acquired Bird from the Colorado Rockies, David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Camilo Doval from the San Francisco Giants on July 31.

"I know we’re better," general manager Brian Cashman told reporters about those additions. "Just keeping it simple, we are better today than we were yesterday. So, mission accomplished there."

Things couldn't have gone worse for the Yankees' new-look bullpen. The trio of Bird, Bednar and Doval allowed a combined nine runs (seven earned) in the final 2.1 innings of Friday's 13-12 walk-off loss to the Miami Marlins.

Bird, in particular, was roughed up in that outing with four earned runs allowed when he gave up a grand slam to Kyle Stowers in the bottom of the seventh.

After rebounding with a scoreless inning in Saturday's 2-0 loss to the Marlins, Bird struggled again on Monday against the Texas Rangers. He pitched in the bottom of the 10th and allowed a walk-off three-run homer to Josh Jung.

The acquisition of Bird was unusual to begin with because he was never a dominant reliever with the Rockies since making his MLB debut in 2022. The right-hander had a 4.57 ERA in 188 appearances with Colorado over four seasons.

You can't even attribute those struggles entirely to pitching in Coors because his ERA is higher on the road (4.96) than at home (4.60). Those splits have been significantly worse this year because his ERA was 2.48 in 24 home games prior to the trade.

In the lead-up to the trade deadline, The Athletic's Brendan Kuty said the Yankees' interest stemmed in part from them being "impressed" when he had two scoreless outings against them in May.

This move to the minors does allow Bird to reset amid a whirlwind week for him. The Yankees will hope he can correct some of his issues and return to the big leagues to help their bullpen before the regular season ends.