Flame-Throwing Sinkerball Reliever Can Help Yankees End Their Jake Bird Problem Once and for All

New York Yankees relief pitcher Jake Bird (59) reacts after getting taken out of the game in the sixth inning against the Athletics at Yankee Stadium. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

As we inch closer to the Aug. 3rd trade deadline, Yankees fans will be hoping that general manager Brian Cashman will make a move or two to upgrade their bullpen.

For this team to make a deep postseason run in the fall, they need to stay healthy, which has now become a huge issue with Aaron Judge on the injured list. And the Yankees must fortify their up-and-down bullpen, as their starting rotation has been one of the best in the majors this season.

If you ask Yankees fans who they would like to see go between now and the trade deadline, it's Jake Bird. The 30-year-old right-handed reliever has a 5.00 ERA across 22 appearances this season.

Bird’s 2026 campaign has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least, as he had an ugly 7.00 ERA in 10 relief appearances between March and April, during which opponents were hitting .297 with an OPS of .784. He was also sent down to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre within that window.

In May, Bird turned things around, posting a 3.00 ERA in 12 appearances, even though opponents were still hitting .250 at the plate. He started last month with six straight scoreless appearances. But that streak came to an end, as Bird allowed an earned run in three out of his last outings to finish May.

That said, if the Yankees want a sure-fire option in the backend of their bullpen, not named Bird, to add by the trade deadline, they should go after Los Angeles Angels reliever Sam Bachman. Bachman is pitching outstandingly for the Angels this season and could be an intriguing trade deadline option for contenders given that he’s still under team control.

Sam Bachman would be a significant upgrade over Jake Bird

The 26-year-old Bachman has been one of the few lone bright spots for a bad Angels club this season. The former first-round pick has a scorching 2.15 ERA across 22 relief appearances.

Bachman has allowed 17 hits, 14 walks, seven earned runs (two home runs), but has recorded 31 strikeouts in 29.1 innings of work.

Bachman has battled multiple injuries throughout the early part of his career, including thoracic outlet syndrome last season. But it seems as if the injuries are behind him, and Bachman is looking like the guy everyone thought he could become as a top draft pick.

The Angels reliever has a three-pitch arsenal at his disposal to get hitters out, with the slider being used the most at 53.9%, according to Baseball Savant. Bachman’s slider, which averages 88.9 mph, is holding opponents to a .154 batting average. It also gets the most whiffs at 41.3% and has a 32.4% put-away rate. 

However, don’t sleep on the right-handed pitcher’s sinker, which comes in at a blister 98.6 mph. While sinker doesn’t get the same amount of whiffs (20.4%) or put away guys at the same clip (15.4%), it's still a viable weapon that batters haven’t figured out yet (.143 average).

That said, when you compare Bachman’s pitching toolbox to Bird’s, there are some similarities and differences. Bird uses four pitches, with the sweeper getting the most work at 40.3%, per Baseball Savant.

Bird’s sweeper has gotten the most whiffs at 38% out of all his pitches this season, but it doesn’t have the most put-aways (25.7%). In fact, Bird’s sinker has a high putaway rate of 27.8%. But it comes in a few notches slower on the radar gun at 94.8 mph than Bachman's, and opponents are hitting .200 against it.

While Bird has had success with those two pitches thus far, it isn’t the same for the curveball or four-seam fastball, which are getting crushed at .455 and .375 averages, respectively. Bachman hasn’t had much success either with his changeup, which he’s thrown 66 times this season, and opponents are hitting .333.

Nonetheless, if you’re the Yankees’ brass, you might be willing to bet on Bachman’s upside more than on Bird's at this stage of his career.

Now, that being said, since Bachman has at least two more years of arbitration, it might cost the Yankees a prospect or two to acquire him. Luckily for New York, it shouldn’t cost them one of their top-10 guys in their system.

If anything, they should see if the Angels would be interested in Brendan Beck, who had a cup of coffee in the majors this season and is ranked No. 21 in New York’s Top-30 prospects on MLB Pipeline, or maybe Kyle Carr or Cade Smith, given how in shambles their starting rotation is.

The Yankees have an abundance of starting pitching depth in the minors and should use that to their advantage to acquire more bullpen help in the coming weeks, whether it's for Bachman or another reliever that may pop up on their radar.