Despite having several names on the roster and a bullpen that needed urgent help, the New York Yankees made a decision that today seems reckless by betting on Jake Bird at the trade deadline, ignoring “red flags” about his physical condition. The result was immediate and devastating and exposed the sporting management.
Bird arrived at the Yankees with deceptively good numbers and an excessive workload with the Colorado Rockies. Instead of seeing an opportunity, many teams wrote him off altogether, but New York, confident in its development and analytics system, opted to pay a high price for him.
Jake Bird and the collapse against the New York Yankees
Jake Bird had 45 appearances with Colorado before arriving in the Bronx and his performance had dropped dramatically in July with an ERA of 19.89, an alarming figure that most offices took as a red flag. Even so, the Yankees decided to hand over two valuable prospects in Roc Riggio and Drew Shields in the hope of “fixing” the pitcher.
However, in his first two outings with the Yankees, Bird has been a disaster; first he allowed a grand slam that almost cost him the game against Miami and days later he was directly responsible for the extra-inning loss against Texas. Two performances were enough for him to be sent back to Triple-A.
The Yankees’ obsession with “fixing” pitchers
This is not the first time the Yankees have gambled on a declining player believing they can transform him, cases like Joey Gallo left lessons that were apparently not learned. According to reports, the team relied more on the internal system than on the general consensus of the league regarding Bader.
The organization assumed it could reverse the wear and tear on Bird’s arm, but underestimated both his current level and his fitness. His early assignment to the minors suggests that the plan was not as solid as they thought and that objective assessments were ignored in favor of an optimistic view not supported by recent results.
The Yankees are now preparing to host the series against the Houston Astros, a tough test against the American League West leaders to prove that they can get back on track and fight for a place in the postseason.
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