Colorado Rockies Reliever Jake Bird Boosting Trade Value As Deadline Approaches

The Colorado Rockies are bound to sell at the trade deadline this summer, but there might not be many pieces worth buying off the 12-53 squad.

One pitcher, though, could fetch the Rockies a solid return.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand compiled a list of 12 players who have boosted their own trade value recently, and Rockies reliever Jake Bird made the cut. The 29-year-old right-hander has taken the mound 27 times in 2025, going 1-1 with a 1.49 ERA, 1.128 WHIP, 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.9 WAR.

Those are all career-highs for Bird, who entered the season 7-9 with a 4.53 ERA, 1.456 WHIP, 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.4 WAR through three big league campaigns. Of course, playing at a hitter-friendly Coors Field has influenced those numbers, with his ballpark-adjusted ERA+ sitting above league average at 107 during that stretch.

Bird is not a closer, but he does have eight holds so far this season. He has notched nine consecutive scoreless outings, allowing five hits and one intentional walk in that span.

The 2018 fifth round pick out of UCLA currently leads all Rockies players in WAR, so parting ways with him would likely tank their season even further. But considering Colorado's playoff odds have been near zero since the start of the regular season, extracting value from a red-hot reliever could help set to stage for a future rebuild.

Bird is set to hit arbitration for the first time next winter. He has three seasons of club control remaining and won't hit free agency until 2029.