The New York Yankees made a surprising move by cutting ties with two-time All-Star Marcus Stroman, just one day after the trade window was shut. But no doubt, Stroman has been struggling with a shaky 6.23 ERA over nine starts. So the Yankees were in flux and added in Jake Bird, Camilo Doval, and Jose Caballero to the roster.
Fans of the Yankees would want these new acquisitions to make headlines. But little did they know that the headline would go like “Shocker: Jake Bird has been optioned.” But this is the reality, and just days after wearing pinstripes, Bird has been optioned. He allowed seven runs in two innings and made his way out. So much for a quick fix, right?
But does Bird’s collapse really come as a shock? Take a look at his year, and it will tell you a different story. His start with Colorado was great, a 1.41 ERA through June 10—awesome, right? It’s why the scouts of teams were looking at him. But come July, it was a downfall, and his ERA ballooned to 14.82 ERA with five blown saves. The elephant in the room, hence, is—the Yankees need results now, and if so, why did they ignore this?
“There was a lot of concern from those guys [opposing scouts] that Bird had been basically run into the ground the first few months in Colorado.”@EBoland11 suspects the Yankees ignored industry-wide concerns about Jake Bird. pic.twitter.com/NYMcx7WHc4
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 5, 2025
Yankees beat writer Erik Boland put it bluntly, “There were 20 teams looking for bullpen help before the trade deadline… and there was a lot of concern from those guys [scouts] that Bird had been basically run into the ground the first few months in Colorado… Quite a few teams had backed off him for that reason. I suspect—just a suspicion—the Yankees’ analytics wing decided, ‘We’ll fix him. We’ve got all our answers, and our pitching lab.’ No one likes to pat themselves on the back more for being cutting edge than the Yankees do.”
That’s where the real issue lies: the Yankees ignored the red flags about Bird’s fatigue and went through with it. They relied on the in-house confidence meter and then good old logic here. They, in turn, have also burnt two of their top prospects—Roc Riggio and Ben Shields. So much for the “Yankee way,” right? And now the Yankees are left with a bullpen that’s deep in quicksand.
Also, Bird’s demotion comes at a brutal time. The New York Yankees’ bullpen, which was supposed to be revived with the addition of Bird, Doval, and Bednar, is simply unraveling. Bednar and Doval each have a 6.75 ERA in their first two appearances. Meanwhile, Devil Williams has been no good, but he still gets the slack from Boone. But then you question—what’s new! He even blew a save on Monday, and the Yankees have gone 18-28 since June 12; that’s the second-worst mark in the American League.
Finally, some good news as the Yankees hit rock bottom
The only good news for the Yankee fans right now is that Aaron Judge is back. It’s almost like he is the Bronx superhero and someone who can save the Yankees now. After missing 10 days with a right flexor strain, the Yankees captain and MVP candidate is officially off the injured list. The timing couldn’t be better, because since he went, things have taken a serious turn.
The New York Yankees have lost four straight and were even swept by the Miami Marlins. Yes, really! They lost the series opener to the Texas Rangers and kept the L streak going. Their comfortable lead in the AL East vanished. They are now 5.5 games behind the Blue Jays and even behind the Red Sox! This is not the team that it once was at the beginning of the season.
But here comes Aaron Judge, aka the Big C! He is bringing the much-needed firepower. Despite the chaos, he is still leading baseball in batting average (.342), on-base percentage (.449), and slugging (.711). He also has 38 home runs and is second only to the leader, Cal Raleigh, now. Boone is excited, saying, “It’s Aaron Judge—we know what he means to our lineup, to the guys in the room.” But alongside this, the Yankees made other moves, like Mark Leiter Jr. coming back from the IL. Also, Yerry de los Santos has been called up from Triple-A. Meanwhile, even JT Brubaker has been designated for assignment. Austin Slater, too, has been placed on a 10-day injured list.
Plenty of changes are happening, but Yanks want their constant Judge to be back soon to bring some sort of stability to this flux.
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