Cleveland – Rockies have won second baseman Roc Riggio (Yankees' No. 10 prospect) and left-hander Ben Shields (No. 28 prospect) in exchange for relief pitcher Jake Bird ahead of Thursday afternoon's trade deadline.
Rocky Mountains general manager Bill Schmidt said Colorado's new prospects will be allocated to Double-A Hartford.
Trade details
Rocky Mountains get: 2B Roc Riggio (No. 11 prospect for Rocky Mountains), LHP Ben Shields (No. 27)
Yankees get: RHP Jake Bird
Rigio (23, a fourth-round pick in Oklahoma's 2023 draft) and Shield (26, 26 non-selected free agents, signed in 23 years and made rapid progress after his college career at Massachusetts and George Mason).
Bird, 29, is 4-1 at 4.73 in 45 games against the Rockies, making it the club's second trade with the Yankees during this deadline. Third baseman Ryan McMahon went to Bronx Bombers last week to start selling prospects Griffin Herring (now the 5th prospect of the Rockies), left-handed and Josh Grosz (19th), both rightists, and they are both in High-A Spokane.
Additionally, the Rockies also gained relief pitching depth when trading experienced Tyler Kinley to Braves right-hander Austin Smith on Wednesday.
Overall, Schmidt believes in the Rockies – which includes two more than 100 loss seasons in the long rebuild, has increased talent and competition so far in 2025 with a record of 28-80.
“We added two left-handed, right-handed and someone who has a chance to be an offensive second baseman,” Schmidt said. “We love what these four guys bring.”
On the days leading to a trade deadline, the team targeted the young guys in the Rockies’ bullpen, especially rookie right-handed close-up Seth Halvorsen and sophomore right-wing Victor Vodnik.
“I have a lot of demands on those guys, Wardnick and Halverson,” Schmidt said. “We think they still have a lot of benefits. We have had Victor over the past two years.” [after a trade with the Braves at the ‘23 deadline] He made progress. We have Hallwasson [a seventh-round pick in ‘23] In fact, it was just last year. ”
Schmidt said Bird helped the Rockies by attracting a pair of prospects and should help the Yankees.
“Jack did a great job here – very competitive with sinks and sliders, he wasn't afraid of Coors Stadium,” Schmidt said. “You see the fact that he is a high-end sign [out of UCLA] He has reached this point. So far, the career has been very successful.
“He played a lot of roles. He could be a multi-inning reliefist. He could pitch for you in the game. If he had to, he would give you three innings and four innings. One thing about Jack is that he was never afraid to catch the ball. I hope he wasn't suitable for him.”
Last year, the lively left-handed hit Riggio in his first full season hit .221 in High-A Hudson Valley, but he had realised his potential with 11 home runs and 27 stolen bases in 106 games. Riggio started the 2025 season on the injury roster and released a 1.033 OPS on the Hudson Valley, with six home runs, four doubles and triple.
After joining Somerset, Rigio played 40 games and cut .261/.335/.542 with 11 home runs, 28 RBIs, 10 doubles and 7 stolen bases.
“I went back to Roc Riggio when he was playing at Thousand Oaks High School [A’s infielders] Jack Wilson and Max Munchy… [before] He went to Oklahoma,” Schmidt said. He has been a competitor. He has resilience. He wants to beat you.
“You're looking at an offensive second baseman. He's not a big guy [listed at 5-foot-9, 180 pounds]but he has 11 home runs and OPS over .900. He had a great time. ”
Riggio added organizational depth at second base, while driving rate hit Adael Amador for the past two seasons, playing on Triple-A Albuquerque.
“That's all about the competition,” Schmidt said.
The 6-foot-4 shield, who moved his career to George Mason after his fifth-year senior in 2023 and beat 107 batsmen in 80 2/3 innings, honed his delivery and quickly improved with deceptive fastballs, curves and sliders in the mid-90s.
Shields missed the first two months of the season due to last year's hip disease. Since becoming active, he has 42 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings and 42 innings in 4 levels. Shields recorded 26 strikeouts in 10 innings in Somerset in 23 2/3.
“Our professional scouts cover minor league baseball,” Schmidt said, “Hey, this guy, even if he's a little older, has a good arm.” “He's starting out and if he has to do that, he can go to the bullpen.
“It's good whenever any team can add left-handed pitches. We got two good left-handed guys [Herring and Shields] In these deals with the Yankees. ”