Yankees Facing Clear Roster Decision as Jake Bird Concerns Near Breaking Point

Jake Bird has struggled with the Yankees ever since they traded for him.

Jake Bird is becoming more of an issue with each passing game. Now, the Yankees need to replace him with a minor-league call-up. | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Jake Bird has struggled right from the moment that the Yankees sent Roc Riggio and Ben Shields to the Rockies. He was more of a high-upside project, capable of generating swings and misses. Bird had a 4.73 ERA on the year before he was acquired, but that 10.46 K/9 was tantalizing. The hope was that he would find another gear and be another Matt Blake project, but that just hasn't materialized yet.

Bird has pitched only 23 innings for the Yankees, but he has allowed 19 earned runs in his short stint with the team. In his last five starts, he has allowed an earned run in three of them. In both of his appearances against the Blue Jays this weekend, Toronto was able to score off him, and in that final game of the series, he gave up a home run, resulting in his third blown save of the campaign.

The homer came just after Anthony Volpe gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead at the top of the inning. With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Bird left a 94.6 MPH sinker down the heart of the plate, and the struggling Davis Schneider, who is hitting all of .145/.309/.263, took him deep.

Davis Schneider pulls the @BlueJays level! pic.twitter.com/qp28i83r6G

— MLB (@MLB) June 14, 2026

That feels like how things have gone for Bird since the trade. While 23 innings are a small sample size, the way he has struggled should raise some questions about his future on the roster and whether he should even have a spot on the big club. The Yankees' bullpen is already a weakness, and if they can shore it up, one way to do that is by optioning Bird back to Triple-A for his third stint with the RailRiders.

It's not to say that Bird can't turn into a reliable reliever. It just may not happen while he's up with the Yankees.

Bird's saving grace is a nasty sweeper. Batters are hitting .214 off of it, but have a .429 slugging. His expected stats tell the story of a pitch that has fallen into some bad luck, as they also have a .182 xBA and .330 xSLG against the sweeper, per Baseball Savant. Bird has been able to strike batters out at a 31.3% clip with it.

Yankees must recall Yovanny Cruz to help solve their Jake Bird problem

Assuming they finally turn the page on Bird, the Yankees can call up the hard-throwing Yovanny Cruz, who gave the big-league club a bit of a preview after being called up earlier this season .

In 2 1/3 innings, Cruz struck out three. He topped out at 100.6 mph during his cup of coffee, and his slowest fastball was 98.8 mph, giving Yankees fans something to truly be excited about.

New York Yankees pitcher Yovanny Cruz (96) delivers a pitch against the Blue Jays in the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

According to Prospect Savant, Cruz has averaged 99.2 mph on his heater in the minors. He has a 32% strikeout rate and a 9% walk rate. He has an overall whiff rate of 40.6%, and that is in the 95th percentile of all pitchers in Triple-A.

The upside is there for Cruz, and the worst that could happen with him is that he pitches as poorly as Bird has. Plus, if the Yankees do swap them, it could be a place for Bird to figure things out without doing so while under the stress of a division race. A call-up would also help New York hold onto its prospect inventory rather than using them in a trade for an external bullpen upgrade.