Yankees blessedly send Jake Bird to minors after latest disaster vs. Dodgers

Who'd the Yankees call up as the corresponding move for right-hander Jake Bird? WHO CARES! The Yankees' scourge is temporarily gone for a required 15 days after being demoted between Games 1 and 2 of the Bombers' doubleheader against the Dodgers on Sunday.

Following an 8-2 loss in a 12:35 PM game started by Cam Schlittler (great stuff!), the Yankees promoted Elmer Rodriguez as the doubleheader's 27th man (so as not to burn an option) and swapped Bird for Kervin Castro to thicken out the bullpen in a designed 'pen game.

Bird's final appearance in pinstripes - for now, but also hopefully permanently! - was as much of an abomination as most of his efforts after being acquired at last summer's trade deadline.

A barrage of sweepers down the middle and disinteresting fastballs turned a 3-1 game into an 8-1 contest in a snap; he allowed four hits and five earned runs, walking two in 1/3 of an inning. Camilo Doval closed out the dreary loss with 31 additional pitches, recording five more outs while throwing three fewer pitches than Bird. That is ... impossible.

Yankees refuse to admit defeat on Jake Bird, but at least remove him from roster for 15 days

Bird cannot come up to the big-league roster again as anything other than the corresponding move to a bullpen injury until after the 2026 trade deadline. This should be his official farewell to the Yankees' organization for the year, as long as the sports gods are just and kind (and can take some time off from making the Rays throw baseballs off each others' heads against the Red Sox).

The right-hander now has allowed 40 hits and 26 earned runs in 32 1/3 innings since arriving last summer from Colorado, good for a 7.24 ERA. There is nothing to like about his full portfolio, other than the amount of break on his sweeper. He was an analytics darling who some thought could be unlocked in a new home with a different altitude. Instead, he somehow got much, much worse, and hasn't been an effective high-leverage option with the Yankees for any longer than a week or so this past April.

Time well tell which Jake Bird varietals the Yankees acquire at the upcoming trade deadline, looking for another couple of similar bites at this delectable apple.

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