Jake Bird has a great beard.
Well, had.
The New York Yankees’ new reliever, acquired on Thursday from the Colorado Rockies, has shaved it all off.
He actually didn’t have to, not anymore. The Yankees loosened their facial-hair policy this offseason.
Bird may have had to shape it up a bit, but Yankees can have beards now. Their current closer, Devin Williams, kept his bearded look when he joined the Yanks this offseason from Milwaukee.
Not Bird. His face is smooth now.
MORE: Guardians’ Jose Ramirez is 1st MLB third baseman in history with this amazing record
Did someone forget to let Jake Bird know that they changed the beard policy?😭 pic.twitter.com/c9wczV29Db
— tru (@trumanation_) August 1, 2025
The Yankees will just hope the beard wasn’t what contained Bird’s powers.
Bird is a solid righty bullpen pickup for the Yankees, joining the also traded for Thursday fellow relievers David Bednar and Camilo Doval. Bird is in his fourth MLB season, and he’s under contract through 2028.
On the season, Bird has struck out 10.5 batters per inning, and his ERA has hovered right about 4.
MORE: Yankees staged the most persistent comeback in MLB history
In Colorado, Bird was the second-best reliever, behind Seth Halvorsen.
In the Bronx, he may pitch a lot earlier in games because of the presence of Williams, Luke Weaver, Bednar and Doval.
Whenever he comes in, Bird will look a bit different. The pitching results should still be strong.
MORE MLB NEWS:
