Yankees already waving white flag on trade deadline with latest roster move

The New York Yankees' impeccable trade deadline luck continued on Monday night when Austin Slater when down with a hamstring injury. That followed up the nightmare Friday night against the Miami Marlins where almost every single acquisition faltered in an historic loss.

It continued Tuesday morning, too, when the Yankees optioned Jake Bird to Triple-A. Bird, who was brought in from the Colorado Rockes in a deal that may fans did not approve of, has allowed seven runs (six earned) on four hits and two walks in his first two innings of work. Absolutely unbelievable.

Bird has blood on his hands for the losses on Friday night and Monday night. He surrendered a grand slam when the Yankees were up 9-4 on Friday (which ended in a 13-12 defeat) and he let up a walk-off three-run homer on Monday after intentionally walking Wyatt Langford for the preferred matchup in Jace Jung.

The Yankees, without a doubt, incorrectly valued the team control that Bird came with (he's here through 2028). If you are historically not a good pitcher, then the price tag hardly matters. And to surrender a top-10 prospect for a player of this caliber? It could end up being unforgivable.

What's even more incomprehensible is that Bird has been worse on the road throughout his career. He's pitched mostly at Coors Field since debuting in 2022, where you would think he would be at a disadvantage. But away from Colorado, his ERA, WHIP, strikeout numbers and HR/9 are considerably worse.

Yankees News: Jake Bird optioned to Triple-A as Mark Leiter Jr. nears return

The good news is that Aaron Judge is expected to return to action on Tuesday. The bad news? This isn't the roster move to clear the path for Judge. This one is to welcome back Mark Leiter Jr., who has also been incredibly ineffective this season.

The bullpen will technically "improve" with this transaction, but not nearly enough the Yanks need it to. They're all out of wack right now and it feels like nothing can go right. As for where Leiter slots in? Hopefully not immediately into high leverage like Bird was tasked with upon his arrival!

Right off the bat, two of Cashman's deadline moves have crumbled within days. And, even worse, Bird's acquisition feels like the Scott Effross trade all over again. Though nobody's necessarily losing sleep over surrendering Hayden Wesneski and Roc Riggio in those two deals, it definitely represents asset mismanagement by the front office. Why couldn't both of those guys have been packaged in a larger deal for a better player?

If you had hopes for the 2025 Yankees coming out of the trade deadline, we've got some bad news for you. Might as well start prepping for 2026 at this point.