The Nationals acquired Bird and right-handers Yovanny Cruz, Ben Grable and Jack Cebert (undisclosed) from the Yankees on Sunday in exchange for first baseman Luis Garcia, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. Washington optioned Bird to Triple-A Rochester.
Bird will be on the move from the second trade deadline in a row after being shipped from the Rockies to the Yankees last summer. Before the Yankees optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on July 19, Bird had struggled over 36 appearances with the Yankees, pitching to a 5.93 ERA and 1.55 WHIP with 31 strikeouts over 30.1 innings in 36 appearances. Though he'll start out his time in the Nationals organization at Triple-A, Bird might not have to wait long for a call-up to a Washington bullpen that's lacking in dependable arms.