Pirates Bullpen Arm Named Tigers' Trade Candidate

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates will likely make moves at the trade deadline, with one player potentially bringing in some top prospects.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic wrote about six trades he wants to see before the MLB trade deadline at the end of July. One of those trades would see the Pirates send right-handed relief pitcher David Bednar to the Detroit Tigers for outfielder prospect Cris Rodriguez from the Dominican Republic.

Bednar has found his form since coming back up on April 19 from a demotion to Triple-A Indianapolis on April 6. He has allowed only six earned runs over 23.0 innings pitched for a 2.35 ERA, 33 strikeouts to four walks and nine saves in nine opportunities.

The Pirates currently have him under team control for one more season and he is making $5.9 million in 2025. This makes him a valuable trade piece for a contending team at the trade deadline.

Rodriguez is only 17 years old and currently plays with the Dominican Summer League 2 (DSL 2) Tigers. He stands 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds, ranks as the No. 8 prospect in the Tigers farm system, according to MLB Pipeline and signed with them this offseason.

He has slashed .348/.367/.652 for an OPS of 1.019 in 12 games, 16 hits in 46 at-bats, five doubles, three home runs, 11 RBIs, two walks to 10 strikeouts and two stolen bases.

Bowden sees the Tigers needing another top relief pitcher option who has closer experience and that the Pirates could get one of the best international prospects in this most recent class, who may turn into a perennial All-Star.

"The Tigers need another high-leverage reliever with closer experience," Bowden wrote. "Enter Bednar, who would be a great fit to go with Tommy Kahnle and Will Vest at the back of their bullpen. Bednar, who is under team control through 2026, has a 3.36 ERA and 10 saves this season. In this scenario, the Pirates would get Rodriguez, who is only 17 and at least four years from the majors. However, he has serious upside and was one of the top international prospects in this year’s class. (Rodriguez signed with Detroit for a $3.197 million bonus, the club’s biggest ever to an international amateur.)"

"So, although Rodriguez is a lesser-known name now, it’s possible he someday turns into a Yordan Alvarez or a Junior Caminero or a Fernando Tatis Jr., who were all once prospects traded in situations like this. I’m not implying Rodriguez is that type of talent, but he does have scary potential, like those players did when they were traded. I think this is the type of prospect risk the Pirates have always needed to embrace more — even though, of course, it might not work out, like those three cases did for the acquiring teams."

"It’s a high-risk, high-reward type of trade. What do the Pirates have to lose?"