Pirates Betting On David Bednar To Bounce Back
The decline of David Bednar proved costly for the Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen.
Bednar went 3-8 with a 5.77 ERA over 62 appearances and had just 23 saves in his 30 opportunities. Bednar's seven blown saves matched his total from the previous two seasons combined. His strikeouts were the lowest of his four-year tenure with the Pirates, while his walks, hits, home runs and earned runs allowed were the highest.
His struggles were a microcosm of a Pittsburgh bullpen that had the fourth-highest ERA and was tied for the second-most blown leads in the ninth inning.
Despite Bednar's struggles last season, the Pirates brass believe the two-time All-Star is capable of bouncing back in 2025. Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton believes that if any pitcher can bounce back from a bad year, it'd be Bednar.
"This guy was a two-time All-Star closer," Shelton said at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. "He had a tough year last year. If I'm going to bet on anybody bouncing back, I'm betting on David Bednar bouncing back. The year that was abrupted [with a] shorter spring training. [He] was behind the eight ball a little bit. [He] had some really good stretches where he threw the ball well [but he] just wasn't consistent. But I'm betting on David Bednar bouncing back and having a really good year for us."
Bednar, 30, emerged as one of baseball's better relievers in 2022 en route to the first All-Star appearance of his career. He went 3-4 with a 2.61 ERA and had 19 saves in 23 opportunities. Bednar pitched 51.2 innings across his 45 appearances and struck out 69 batters while holding opponents to a .218 batting average.
The Pirates reliever elevated his game to another level in 2023 with his best season to date, going 3-3 with a 2.00 ERA and he led the National League with 39 saves. He also struck out 80 batters in his 67.1 innings pitched over 66 appearances and held opposing hitters to a .215 batting average.
If Bednar can get back on track, it'd go a long way toward solving one of the Pirates' biggest issues. While adding arms is still a necessity, the 2022 and 2023 versions of Bednar combined with more quality arms could suddenly turn the Pirates bullpen into the strength Ben Cherington thought it would be in 2024.
"Bullpen is an area we need to strengthen for sure," Cherington said. "I don't think we're starting from scratch. You mentioned Bednar, [I] really believe he can have a bounce back [year]. The stuff is still there. Like Colin Holderman [and] what Dennis Santana did after coming over, we've got a starting group there. We got to add to it. We've got some younger guys we think can continue to step up."
