New York Yankees demote high leverage deadline addition to triple-A Scranton

Bird, 29, was one of the Yankees' trio of potential high-leverage bullpen additions acquired ahead of the trade deadline last week.

The Yankees surrendered Second base prospect Roc Riggio and pitching prospect Ben Shields in order to acquire Bird, who has allowed seven runs over two innings in his first three appearances with New York.

On Monday, he gave up a walk-off home run to Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung in extra innings as the Yankees lost their fifth straight game.

It's only been a few games, but the early returns have not been great.

The Yankees found themselves swept at the hands of the Marlins in the days following the deadline and have yet to win a game in August.

That slump has left them with just a 1.5 game lead over the Rangers for the final AL Wild Card spot, and Bird has been in the thick of those troubles.

After surrendering four runs to the Marlins while recording just one out in his Yankees debut, the right-hander surrendered three runs (two earned) while recording two outs against Texas last night.

Those six runs allowed in a combined two innings of work across three appearances leave him with a 27.00 ERA for his Yankees career, and now he's headed to the minor leagues as New York waits for him to get right.

While an effective version of Bird would undoubtedly make the Yankees' bullpen better, it's hard to argue they're light on talent at the moment.

Williams, Weaver, Bednar, and Doval have all had worrying moments at points throughout the season, but each has a strong track record of success in the late innings.