Pirates Urged to Trade All-Star Pitcher

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have one relief pitcher that other MLB teams will likely target heading towards the trade deadline.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com named 11 players that had their trade profiles "soar" due to their play this season. One of those players he picked was Pirates right-handed pitcher David Bednar.

Bednar struggled early on this season, especially in the opening series vs. the Miami Marlins, as he suffered two losses and had a 27.00 ERA.

These struggles came after a bad campaign in 2024, where a 3-8 record, a 5.77 ERA in 57.2 innings pitched in 62 games, 23 saves and seven blown saves in 30 opportunities, while also losing his starting job as closer.

The Pirates sent Bednar down to Triple-A Indianapolis on April 1, where he allowed just one hit and no runs with seven strikeouts over five outings.

Bednar came back up on April 19 and has spent the remainder of this season with the Pirates, finding his best form again.

He has appeared in 22 games, posting a 2.61 ERA over 20.2 innings pitched, 30 strikeouts to three walks, with seven saves in seven opportunities. He has 17 scoreless appearances, including his last seven on the mound.

The Pirates are currently 28-42 overall, 14.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs in first place of the National League Central Division, 11.5 games behind in the NL Wild Card race and the fifth worst record in the MLB.

With things trending towards another losing season, Feinsand sees this as the time for the Pirates to send Bednar elsewhere and reap the rewards.

"Bednar struggled so much to start the season that the Pirates demoted him to Triple-A on April 1, but the reliever has been formidable since returning to the Majors on April 19," Feinsand wrote. "In 22 outings since then, Bednar had a 2.61 ERA with seven saves, striking out 30 batters in 20 2/3 innings to regain the closer role.

"Pittsburgh faces a double-digit deficit in both the NL Central and Wild Card races, and with Bednar earning $5.9 million this season with one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining, the time is right for the Pirates to trade him."

Bednar starred for the Pirates in 2022 and 2023, earning himself back-to-back All-Star appearances. He led the National League with 39 saves in 42 opportunites in 2023 with a 2.00 ERA in 67.1 innings pitched, and had 19 saves in 23 opportunites in 2022, with a 2.61 ERA in 51.2 innings pitched.

He struggled in 2024, blowing three saves in his first four opportunities and then had a poor August, which saw previous manager Derek Shelton take away his closer spot and go by committee the rest of the season.

Pittsburgh landed Bednar in a three-team trade back on Jan. 19, 2021. They traded starting pitcher Joe Musgrove to the San Diego Padres for left-handed pitcher Omar Cruz, right-handed pitcher Drake Fellows and outfielder Hudson Head and got catcher Endy Rodriguez from the New York Mets.

Bednar hails from the Pittsburgh area, playing for Mars High School in Mars, Pa. and then pitched for Lafayette. The Padres selected him in the 35th round, the 1,044 overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft.