Colorado Rockies Could Shop Top Reliever at MLB Trade Deadline

The Colorado Rockies have a reliever that could bring them some solid talent at the trade deadline next month.

May 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Jake Bird (59) pitches during a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. / Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

Jake Bird isn’t toiling in relative obscurity anymore.

The Colorado Rockies right-hander is having a career season. The 29-year-old reliever is 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA in his first 31 appearances this season. He has struck out 54 and walked 16 in 41.1 innings. He could end up being Colorado’s only representative at the MLB All-Star Game next month in Atlanta.

By the end of July, he could be somewhere else.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported on Sunday that Bird could be a player the Rockies shop at the MLB trade deadline to reliever-needy teams.

It’s case of right player, right time for the former UCLA star, where he was an all-Pac-12 selection his senior year and was selected by the Rockies in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB draft.

In his first three seasons in the Majors, he went 5-7 with a 4.53 ERA in 108 games, with three starts. He struck out 119 and walked 50 in 137 innings. He also had a 1.1 bWAR.

This season, he already has a 1.8 bWAR. His low-slot, sidearm delivery is making him more difficult to hit than ever.

Why would Colorado consider trading a reliever who is pitching that well? His value to the Rockies, long-term, may be in what they can get for him in trade.

Not only is he having his best season, he entered this campaign with just over two years of service time. He is arbitration-eligible next season and is under team control until he becomes a free agent in 2029.

That’s an intangible that prospective contenders like. He’s a cheap arm with controllable years who can contribute now and in the future. Colorado would also get out from under his arbitration bill, which isn’t likely to be too costly next season. But it could go up in successive years, depending upon how well he pitches.

The Rockies are baseball’s worst team, and they should be in the mode of building as many assets as possible for future growth as a franchise.

If the return for Bird is two or three solid prospects, or even one Major League ready contributor that can grow into a starter, that may prove too good for Colorado to pass up.