A day after trading reliever Tyler Kinley to the Atlanta Braves, the Colorado Rockies have made another move concerning their bullpen, trading right-handed reliever Jake Bird to the New York Yankees for a pair of prospects.

Bird, 29, has been one of the more effective bullpen arms in the big leagues this season sporting a 4.73 ERA while being one the league’s workhorses with 53 1/3 innings logge. He was particualrly strong in the first half of the season. Through his first 40 appearances before the All-Star Break, Bird posted a 3.62 ERA in 49 1/3 innings of work. He has struggled to kick off the second half in his first handful of appearances.

The major upturn for Bird has been a career-high 10.5 K/9 this season, good for a 26.3% strikeout rate. He has still walked 9.7% of batters faced this season, but has shown a proven ability to strand runners and get out of situations. WIth a lively fastball and usual slider, he’s filled multiple roles in the bullpen from middle relief, long relief, and backend arm.

A fifth-round pick by the Rockies in 2018, Bird found his way to the big leagues for his debut in 2022. Bird found himself a staple of the Rockies pen over the last few seasons, becoming a work horse for Rockies management. He was among league leaders in innings pitched among relievers in 2023 before dealing with ineffectiveness and injury in 2024. Bird has regained his form this season and through his big league career owns a 4.57 ERA in 230 1/3 innings.

He joins a Yankees team that has been busy at the deadline. This is the second trade the Rockies and Yankees have made, with New York acquiring Ryan McMahon last week. He is the second reliever the Yankees have picked up on Thursday, having also acquired reliever David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bird is still under team control through the 2028 season and will enter his first year of arbitration this offseason.

In return, the Rockies are acquiring two prospects; second baseman Roc Riggio and pitcher Ben Shields.

Riggio is ranked as the Yankees No. 10 prospect per MLB Pipeline. A fourth-round pick by the Yankees in 2023, Riggio was on the injured list for most of the first-half but has spent the majority of the season with the Double-A Somerset Patriots. In 40 games in Double-A he has slashed .261/.335/.542 with 11 home runs and 28 RBI.

Shields was ranked as the Yankees No. 28 prospect per MLB Pipeline. An amateur free agent signing in 2023, he has spent the majority of the season on the 60-day injured list before being activated at the end of June. Across four minor league levels this season, Shields sports a 3.03 ERA in nine starts with 42 strikeouts and 14 walks. Pitching with Double-A Somerset he sports a 3.42 ERA over five starts.