Yankees Option Bird After Rough Debut, Bullpen Woes

The New York Yankees have optioned reliever Jake Bird to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after he struggled in three appearances, allowing six earned runs—including a grand slam in his debut and a walk-off three-run homer to Texas' Josh Jung. Bird, who was acquired from the Colorado Rockies at the trade deadline in exchange for prospects Roc Riggio and Ben Shields, posted a 27.00 ERA with the Yankees after arriving with a 4.73 ERA from Colorado. The Yankees are amid a four-game losing streak and remain third in the AL East, 5.5 games behind the division-leading Toronto Blue Jays. Despite bullpen reinforcements like David Bednar and Camilo Doval, the team’s struggles have continued. Mark Leiter Jr. is expected to be activated from the injured list to replace Bird. Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged the bullpen issues and stressed the need to improve at closing out games.