Rockies exchange Jake Bird to New York Yankees, receive two prospects

Per Yes’s Jack Curry, the Colorado Rockies have a different exchange with the New York YankeesThis time Jake Bird is sent to the east.

The often related to the bird will reinforce an evolving Yankees bull pen-one that has already been strengthened by adding David Bednar Earlier today.

Bird spectacular in the first half This season, and although he has been struggling lately, he will again be a solid addition to a New York Relief Corps that is preparing for a deep late season.

ROC Riggio

In exchange for his services, the Yankees prospects ROC Riggio and Ben Shields have handed over.

Riggio, no. 10 prospect per MLB pipeline, is an exciting young second base man who immediately becomes one of the more intriguing prospects in the Colorado system. The 23-year-old has been promoted twice this year and is Currently cut .261/.335/.542 With the Somerset Patriots.

A pick in the fourth round in the MLB version of 2023, the acquisition of Riggio focuses on the lack of depth on second base in the farming system of Rockies.

Described by MLB pipeline such as “De Build, Bravoure and Max-Effort Swing of a Lefty-Hitting Dustin Pedroia”, Riggio is a strong left-handed batter with pull-side power. Although he is trapping his honest share – especially on breaking fields – he is patient enough on the plate to take walks. He is also aggressive on the bases, even though he is not particularly fast for his size. Riggio stable 27 bases in 2024 and has stolen nine this year.

A solid enough defender on second base, Riggio does not have much in terms of positional versatility because of his arm and agility. The Yankees gave him limited repetitions at Shortstop at Low-A Tampa and High-a Hudson Valley, but he misses the agility for the position.

Ben Shields

Ben Shields, the Yankee’s no. 28 Organizational prospect, was a unsigned free agent in 2024 despite leading the Atlantic 10 conference in Strikeouts on George Mason. His advanced age at the age of 26 can lift some eyebrows, but he is quickly ascended by the Yankees Farm system with positive results. He missed some time early in the season with a hip injury, but has been healthy since then and could see Triple-A by the end of this season.

The two best pitches from Shields are its Low 80s Curveball and Midden 80 slide, which it uses in combination with a solid fastball with four seam with Carry and Armside Run. He uses all three pitches to generate whiffs, on average a 10.6 SO/9 over four play levels in 2025. He has seen his strikeouts fall a bit since he arrived in Double-A, but has managed an ERA of 3.42 for five start with Double-a Somerset.

Although he is currently a starter, the shields can probably be moved to a multi-inning helprol as his career continues.

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