Minor League Baseball

New York Yankees Trade Slew of Prospects in Pair of Impactful Deadline Moves

The New York Yankees acquired former All-Star David Bednar and hard-throwing Jake Bird on Thursday, but what about what they gave up?
Brady Farkas|
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar (51) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park on July 28.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar (51) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park on July 28. | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

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New York Yankees

The New York Yankees shook up the trade deadline in a big way on Thursday, acquiring a pair of leverage relievers as they attempt to get back to the World Series this season.

Fortifying the back-end of the bullpen, New York brought in former All-Star closer David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates and hard-throwing Jake Bird from the Colorado Rockies.

In exchange, they gave up a slew of prospects, including Roc Biggio and Ben Shields (Bird), and Rafael Flores, Edgleen Perez and Brian Sanchez (Bednar).

In total, the Yankees traded away two prospects from their MLB Pipeline Top 10: Flores was eighth and Biggio was 10th. Perez was ranked 14th, while Shields was 28th. Sanchez was unranked.

With regards to Flores, he is a catcher and a first baseman who had been predicted to make his debut in 2026. The Yankees clearly found him expendable given the presence of Ben Rice and Austin Wells.

Biggio, an infielder, is blocked currently by Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base and Ryan McMahon at third.

New York entered play on Thursday at 59-49 and in the first position in the American League wild card chase. They advanced to the World Series last season, but have slumped this season, losing holding hold in the American League East.

The Yankees play the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium before heading to Miami for a weekend series with the suddenly surging Marlins. They'll then play the also surging Texas Rangers next week.

Texas is currently in the third wild card spot in the American League, tied with the Seattle Mariners. Both teams are 57-52.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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