Pirates Could Trade Lagging Closer
For much of David Bednar's tenure with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he had been a lone bright spot for a young team still trying to find their way to relevancy.
Bednar was the subject of trade talks as Pittsburgh was in the middle of its rebuild, though, the Pirates opted to hold onto the hometown reliever. Things took a turn last season, though, when the hard-throwing right-hander struggled to the point where he was removed from the closer role for the final month. Now, Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors proposed that the Pirates could finally choose to move Bednar.
"Bednar could resurface as a trade candidate in the coming weeks but under much different circumstances," Franco wrote. "He’s coming off by far the worst season of his career. The question now is not whether the Pirates should sell high on an affordable, breakout closer. It’s whether to move on in a cost-saving measure at a time when his trade value has hit a low ebb."
Bednar, 30, was 3-8 with a 5.77 ERA and blew seven saves last season. In the previous two seasons, The Pirates right-hander made back-to-back All-Star teams and he led the National League with 39 saves in 2023.
Pittsburgh needs to improve its bullpen if it's going to take the next step toward becoming a playoff team. It ranked 27th in ERA and blew the second-most ninth-inning leads in 2024. Whether Bednar can bounce back from last season is among the important question marks if it's going to turn things around in 2025.
With Bednar set to enter his second year of arbitration, the question of either paying him or the Pirates trying to get what they can in a trade is a tricky one to answer. On one hand, he had one bad season and now would be the worst time to trade him. On the other, if Pittsburgh is unsure of whether he can regain his form, now would be the time to move forward and completely revamp what held them back.
Regardless of whether Bednar stays or goes, improving the bullpen is a must for Pittsburgh for 2025.
