Rockies Add to Farm System Depth With Three Deadline Moves

The Colorado Rockies made one deal on the final day of the trade deadline, sending RHP Jake Bird to the New York Yankees for two prospects.

Colorado’s second swap with the Yankees brought their trade activity to three deals this summer, one shy of the four notable moves of subtraction in 2023 and one more than last year.

In total, the Rockies dealt away three veteran presences over the final week leading up to Thursday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline: 3B Ryan McMahon, RHP Tyler Kinley, and Bird. Five prospects with zero big-league experience ended up being their haul.

The transaction on Thursday was the second with the Yankees in a week. After acquiring two pitching prospects — LHP Griffin Herring and RHP Josh Grosz — for McMahon, three more seasons of club control of Bird returned IF Roc Riggio and LHP Ben Shields.

Riggio was a fourth-round selection in 2023 out of Oklahoma State. The 23-year-old infielder has spent a majority of 2025 at High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset, slashing .264/.370/.567 with 14 doubles, one triple, 18 home runs, 45 RBI and nine stolen bases.

The Thousand Oaks (CA) product can play shortstop, but he hasn’t spent time there since 2024. Second base appears to be his primary position at this point.

Shield was an undrafted fifth-year senior out of George Mason University. The 26-year-old began his season on the 60-day injured list with a hip issue. He’s thrown 35.2 innings this season, most of which have come in the Eastern League. The Boston, Massachusetts native went 1-2 for the Double-A Patriots with a 3.42 ERA (23.2 IP, 9 ER) and 26 strikeouts over five starts.

The most talented of the prospects coming to the Rockies was through the McMahon deal.

“While it is never easy to part ways with a player and person of Ryan’s caliber, our focus at this deadline is to build for a competitive future,” said Colorado’s Senior Vice President and General Manager Bill Schmidt. “We’re excited to welcome Griffin and Josh to the organization. They’re both highly talented young pitchers with the potential to make a meaningful impact at the major-league level in the near future.”

Herring was MLB Pipeline’s No. 8 talent in the Yankees’ farm system. A native of Grapevine, Texas, Herring has risen in the ranks with an outstanding 2025 campaign that includes the second-lowest ERA in the minor leagues among qualified full-season pitchers. The 22-year-old is 7-3 with a 1.71 ERA (89.1 IP, 17 ER), 36 walks, and 102 strikeouts in 16 starts between Single-A Tampa and High-A this season.

A sixth round pick of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Louisiana State University, Herring went 11-3 with a 2.66 ERA in 39 relief appearances (one start) across 2023 and 2024, leading the Tigers to a national title in 2023. He entered the Rockies Top 30 list for MLB Pipeline as the highest ranked left-handed pitcher at No. 5.

Grosz, 22, reunites with fellow East Carolina University pitcher Zach Agnos. Selected in the 11th round in 2023, the Twentypine Palms, California native is 4-8 this season with a 4.14 ERA in 87.0 innings over 16 appearances (15 starts) with High-A Hudson Valley. His 94 strikeouts is tied for third-most in the South Atlantic League while his .211 opponents average ranks fifth.

Colorado’s lone deal that wasn’t with New York came together with Atlanta. Kinley, who sports a 5.66 ERA in 47.2 innings pitched, has been solid since June 15, posting a 2.37 ERA with an impressive strikeout rate (31.1% ) and walk rate (6.7% ). An option on next season at $5 million suggests Atlanta may think they could have another Pierce Johnson on their hands.

RHP Austin Smith was an 18th round pick in 2021 out of the University of Arizona. The 26-year-old started his 2025 well with High-A Rome (2.38 ERA) before struggling at Double-A Columbus (5.40 ERA) out of relief. 

All in all, it’s a better trade deadline for Colorado than in the past. A standard veteran-for-a prospect — or two — kind of trade was not very common. From 2002 to 2022, Denver’s only big-league club waved the white flag in what appeared to be just seven trades. Many times, it was major-league talent for major-league talent with some prospects sprinkled on each side, even when they were trying to reduce payroll. 

Notable swaps July and August swaps included Larry Walker to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004, Ubaldo Jiménez to Cleveland in 2011, and Troy Tulowtitzki to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015.

The deals at this year’s trade deadline are not entirely insignificant. McMahon was the longest tenured position player on the roster. Drafted in 2013 out of Mater Dei (CA) HS, he was the last from the 2017-18 playoff seasons not named Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela.

Kinley was a waiver pickup for Colorado in December of 2019. The reliever with the most time in purple pinstripes before the trade, Kinley’s 253 relief appearances rank 15th-most in franchise history.

Now the focus turns to the pursuit of avoiding 121 losses to tie the 2024 Chicago White Sox for the Modern Era record. At 28-80 (.259), Colorado are on pace for 120 losses at this point. With how much better the team has played under interim manager Warren Schaeffer (21-47, .309), it’s possible the third consecutive 100-loss season for this franchise won’t be the worst ever.

Now, with three open spots following the trades of McMahon, Kinley, and Bird, they’ll turn to their youth in hopes of keeping this new pace despite the hardest remaining schedule in the National League.