Aug 4, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Jake Bird (59) in action during the game between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Yankees New Reliever Struggles Again in Triple-A

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Michael Rosenstein | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 11:00 AM ET

More problems for Jake Bird down on the farm. The right-handed reliever made another shaky appearance for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. This one came Wednesday against the Indianapolis Indians.

Bird entered the game in the top of the eighth inning with the RailRiders up, 3-1. He hit the first batter then quickly recorded two outs. But Bird couldn't escape unharmed, giving up an RBI single before getting pulled from the game.

A wild pitch by Jayvien Sandridge brought in the Indians' second run. Then another RBI single closed the book on Bird's night: 2/3 of an inning pitched, two earned runs, one hit and one strikeout. He threw 25 pitches, 15 for strikes.

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The RailRiders rallied for a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth, but it's hard to overlook Bird's ERA, which sits at 13.50 after three appearances in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The Yankees demoted Bird last week after three underwhelming appearances for New York. He gave up six earned runs in just two innings of work, quickly falling out of favor in the Bronx.

Part of the problem could be the wear and tear on the 29-year-old reliever.

“There were probably 20 teams looking for bullpen help before the trade deadline,” Newsday's Erik Boland said last week on the "Foul Territory" podcast. “The Yankees were certainly pretty high on that list, and talking to scouts from other teams that were looking for bullpen help and that had scouted Jake Bird, there was a lot of concern from those guys that Bird had been basically run into the ground [in] the first few months in Colorado.

“You look at it, he had 45 appearances with the Rockies at the time that the Yankees traded for him, and he had a really bad July, which obviously is the time leading up to the trade deadline. There were quite a few teams that backed off of him for that reason," Boland added.

Bird made nine appearances in July for Colorado. That followed heavy usage in April (12 appearances), May (10 appearances) and June (13). The righty posted a 19.89 ERA in July, giving up 14 earned runs and three home runs in just six 1/3 innings of work.

Bird was part of general manager Brian Cashman's trade deadline acquisitions. David Bednar and Camilo Doval remain in the Yankees bullpen with Bedar assuming the role of closer.

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