'Anonymous' Reliever Becomes Top Trade Candidate With 0.41 ERA at Coors Field

Every season, contending teams look to load up their bullpens for the playoffs. Shortening the game for the starters is the trendy thing in the postseason these days, and good high-leverage relievers are always in demand at the trade deadline.

With six weeks to go until July 30th, there are many names once again available, but insider Ken Rosenthal, in The Athletic, points to an 'anonymous', under-the-radar arm that resides in none other than Coors Field. Jake Bird took a 1.41 ERA into Friday night's game (though suffered a little hiccup in Atlanta, which bumped his ERA up a bit).

Colorado Rockies right-hander Jake Bird is the latest relatively anonymous reliever to attract attention. Bird, 29, won’t be a free agent until 2029...
(He) has performed well at Coors Field. That’s not an easy task. And it’s not easy to find. In 22 innings at home this season, Bird’s ERA is 0.41. Still, that’s a relatively small sample, and over the Rockies’ history, relievers find it difficult to sustain success.

Overall, in 29 appearances covering 39.1 innings, Bird has a 2.06 ERA with a 1.12 WHIP with an impressive 51:16 strikeout to walk ratio (11.7 K/9). He's holding opposing batters to a .203 average and a .601 OPS. And, as Rosenthal mentions, there's that insane 0.41 ERA in the thin air of Coors Field.

But in his three previous seasons in Denver, Bird had a combined ERA of about 4.50 and a WHIP in the range of 1.50.

Another reason a trade may not be viable is that the Rockies, no matter how bad they are in any given season, rarely are sellers at the trade deadline. And Bird is under team control until 2029.

"Colorado rarely demonstrates an interest in selling high on players with club control," writes Rosenthal. "League sources indicated the team’s stance is unlikely to change in the case of Bird.

"People briefed on the situation said the Rockies’ historically bad start isn’t expected to alter their way of handling the trade deadline, which typically has meant little activity for them".

The Rockies are 13-57, on pace for an all-time MLB worst 30 wins.