2:10pm: Minor league catcher/first baseman Edgleen Perez is also in the trade, reports Passan. Francys Romero adds that minor league outfielder Brian Sanchez is the third player going back to Pittsburgh.
1:55pm: Catching prospect Rafael Flores is headed to the Pirates in the deal, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports. Pittsburgh will receive two additional prospect as well, Jon Heyman of the New York Post adds.
1:50pm: The Yankees are finalizing a trade to acquire closer David Bednar from the Pirates, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported earlier that the two sides were discussing a swap. The Yankees and Pirates are currently reviewing the medical records of the players in the deal, Rosenthal now adds.
Bednar, 30, is one of the top controllable relievers on the market. The hard-throwing 6’1″ righty is making $5.9MM this season and is under club control for one more year. He’s owed about $1.87MM of that sum for the balance of the season, though the Yankees will have to pay a 110% luxury tax on him, making the total financial outlay closer to $3.9MM.
A two-time All-Star, Bednar struggled through a brutal 2024 season and had a rough start to his 2025 campaign. The Bucs optioned him to Triple-A in late March, and Bednar has been an absolute behemoth since returning. In 37 frames, he’s posted a dazzling 1.70 ERA with a 34.5% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate. It’s some of the best work of Bednar’s career — even better than what had been a 2021-23 peak that saw him post a combined 2.25 ERA, 31.2% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.
Bednar surely holds extra appeal for the Yankees, given that additional season of club control. Top relievers like Devin Williams and Luke Weaver are both set to reach free agency at season’s end. Bednar would be able to pitch in any high-leverage role necessary in 2025 and could step into the ninth inning for the 2026 season, depending on whether Williams and/or Weaver are retained.
Yankees relievers have been mediocre on the season overall, sitting 21st in the majors with a 4.24 ERA. However, they’ve been the second-worst group in baseball over the past month, recording a 6.29 ERA that’s worst in the American League and leads only the Rockies among all 30 teams. Struggles from Weaver and Williams have played a significant role, and the Yankees have also been without Fernando Cruz and Mark Leiter Jr. in that time. Cruz has an oblique strain, and Leiter has a stress fracture in his fibula.
More to come.
