Pirates Placing Closer On Trade Block; Will Red Sox Pursue All-Star At Deadline?
The Boston Red Sox are seeking upgrades to their pitching staff. Why not kick the tires on acquiring the best reliever in Major League Baseball?
The Pittsburgh Pirates reportedly are shopping an elite, young and controllable closer -- an extremely rare occurrence.
"Pirates are telling teams they’d listen on All-Star closer David Bednar but the understanding is that he’d be difficult to move since he isn’t a free agent until 2027," the New York Post's Jon Heyman tweeted Monday. "The Pittsburgh native (another plus for the Bucs) has a 1.15 ERA."
The 28-year-old hurler has an insane and aforementioned 1.15 ERA this season with a 47-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .199 batting average against and 0.95 WHIP in 39 innings this season.
While he is on an unsustainable pace, the young star's career numbers aren't super far off. Bednar has a career 2.56 ERA with a 31.1% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate, .211 batting average against and 1.08 WHIP in 151 1/3 innings across 144 games.
The Red Sox reportedly have interest in a right-handed reliever at the trade deadline to pair with Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin and John Schreiber (being activated Tuesday) as the backend of the bullpen.
Admittedly, Bednar certainly will go for a higher asking price than the Red Sox would ideally be seeking but Bednar could be a lockdown reliever in Boston for years to come, possibly the next decade.
The odds of Bednar actually being dealt with three more full seasons of team control are unlikely, and the odds of Boston being seriously involved are even lower but he would alter the franchise's outlook for this season and beyond.
More MLB: Red Sox Linked To All-Star Caliber Pitcher In Potential Reunion At Trade Deadline
