Jake Bird no longer has to face New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge after Thursday's trade deadline, which saw the reliever being traded in the Bronx by the Colorado Rockies. The NL West team received prospects Roc Riggio and Ben Shields in exchange.Bird, who is yet to make his debut for the club, was pretty excited after the trade. During an interview after the Yankees' game on Friday, he said via YES Network: "Surprised. I was with the Rockies for so long that it didn't really set in until I got the field today, but it's awesome, it's special, and I'm really excited to be here. "Just a lot of guys I watch, a lot of guys I try and study to learn from and stuff, and so it's cool getting to meet those guys and talk to them a little bit. Hopefully, I get to pick their brains in the next few days, and Aaron Judge is a lot bigger than I even realized." When the former Rockies pitcher made a subtle mention about the Yankees' No. 99, the reporter asked if he was happy that he won't have to face Judge at the plate anytime soon. "Wish I got him more than once just to test my valor a little bit, but he got me the one time I faced him, and he's a pretty good hitter, so that is a plus for me," Bird said. Bird and Judge have faced each other once before, when the pitcher was squared up by the Yankees captain for a hit. Jake Bird talks about his beard and conversation with Ryan McMahon before coming to YankeesJake Bird will have to part ways with his long beard and get accustomed to the Yankees' tradition of having a clean shave, or at least have a clean look, as per the organization's amendment to their facial hair policy starting this season. Bird's Rockies teammate, third baseman Ryan McMahon, was also traded to the Yankees. He called Bird and helped him out in regards to shaving his beard. "I think he called me before I even had a chance," Bird said. "I was on and off phone calls with different Rockies, different Yankees people, and he called me and told me, ‘Hey, you don't have to shave the beard, just clean it up.’ And by then, I had already decided it was going away."Jake Bird also said that he had been growing the beard for two years, but feels okay after having shaved it off.