The Philadelphia Phillies are in a position to make a fourth consecutive playoff appearance as the first half of the 2025 season comes to a close. Like most teams, the Phillies are not perfect and will be looking to upgrade ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.
Adding a high-leverage bullpen arm, or two, should be the Phillies’ top priority. The reliever market is shaping up to be plentiful, but there will be competition among the league’s contenders.
The Colorado Rockies own the worst record in Major League Baseball. With just 17 wins entering Saturday and a -202 run differential, the Rockies are on pace to lose a historically high number of games.
Bryce Harper has history with Phillies' potential trade deadline fit Jake Bird
The Rockies may not have enticing talent to sell at the deadline; however, a four-year veteran reliever should draw significant interest from contenders looking for bullpen help, like the Phillies.
Jake Bird is a 29-year-old right-handed reliever who is having a career year in 2025. The former fifth-round pick owns a 2.16 ERA with 10 holds and 54 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings and has been one of the lone bright spots for the Rockies.
Bird should be a hot commodity as the deadline nears and is pegged as a potential fit for the Phillies, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Not only is he enjoying a breakout season, but Bird is under club control for three more seasons and won’t be a free agent until 2029.
If the Phillies were to trade for Bird, it could ruffle some feathers. During a 2023 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field, Bird taunted the Phillies' dugout after escaping a jam in the seventh inning, to which Bryce Harper took offense.
The benches cleared, Harper had to be restrained and both Bird and the Phillies’ superstar were ejected from the ballgame.
The benches cleared in the 7th inning. 😳 pic.twitter.com/Ag1TZDVHHW
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) May 14, 2023
“I get emotional,” Harper said about the altercation back in 2023, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “I understand getting fired up for an inning and stuff like that. But once you make it about a team or make it about yourself and the other team, that’s when I’ve kind of got a problem with it.”
Nonetheless, Bird would significantly upgrade the Phillies’ bullpen and help their pursuit of a World Series championship in 2025. Harper would likely welcome the reliever with open arms.