Rockies Star Relief Pitcher Named Potential Trade Target for Phillies

The Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies could be ideal trade partners head of the deadline.

May 3, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Jake Bird (59) throws a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies are a team many people are going to be keeping a close eye on in the coming weeks, despite their historically poor performance on the field thus far.

Entering play on June 23, they have the worst record in baseball at 18-60. They are on pace to break the single-season record for losses, which was set by the Chicago White Sox last year with 121.

However, despite their underwhelming record, the Rockies could have an impact on the playoff race this season.

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They aren’t going to factor into the mix themselves since they are currently 29.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and 25 games out of the wild card race. But they could change the tide around the league based on how things unfold ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

There are a few players who are going to garner interest on the roster, with their most valuable trade asset being relief pitcher Jake Bird.

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Contenders would love to add him to their bullpen based on his stellar performance in 2025 and the fact that he is under team control through 2028.

A multi-year weapon for a bullpen is something that will intrigue plenty of teams, including the Philadelphia Phillies.

Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report named the National League East leaders as a potential landing spot for Bird because they need a high-leverage reliever at the back end of their bullpen.

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With only one save on his resume, he may not factor into the mix to close out games right away, but he would be a massive upgrade for a Phillies relief staff that is in desperate need of some help.

Where Bird would be most useful is against left-handed hitters.

Manager Rob Thomson has no right-handed pitchers he can trust when matched up against left-handed hitters except maybe Taijuan Walker.

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Bird would fill that void, allowing a .634 OPS to lefties; against righties he is at .621.

He would be an immediate upgrade, addressing their biggest weakness with Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks as the only left-handed pitchers in the bullpen.

On the season, Bird has a stellar 2.06 ERA in what has been a breakout campaign with 56 strikeouts in 43.2 innings pitched.

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