I spent my summer in Pittsburgh writing for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And in my time writing for them, I spent some time at the beautiful PNC Park covering a less-than-stellar Pittsburgh Pirates team.
The Pirates currently hold a 51-71 record, worst in the National League Central, and they weren’t playing stellar baseball while I was in the press box. However, just like there are with any below-average teams, there were some members of the group that performed at an above-average level, and one of those was now-Yankees reliever David Bednar.
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I watched the 30-year-old right-hander pitch a few times from high above the diamond at PNC, and I was consistently impressed with his ability to work outs, even in the tightest of jams. It didn’t matter if there were runners on base or the pond was completely empty, Bednar wore his heart on his sleeve, and the numbers with Pittsburgh reflected that.
In 42 games played and 38 innings with the Bucs this season, Bednar pitched to a 1.97 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. His ERA+ after his final game settled at 179. He was a machine on the mound in black and gold, and it was exciting when the news was reported that the Yankees would be acquiring him on trade deadline day.
In Peter Brody’s Trade Deadline target piece for Bednar, he pointed out that Bednar is a pitcher who can make adjustments extremely well, given his bounce back from his abysmal sub-replacement level and 5.77 ERA season in 2024. And that was true when he first arrived in The Bronx.
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Bednar’s first game with the Yankees did not go as planned, just as it didn’t for every single one of the reliever additions at the deadline. In 1.2 innings pitched, he allowed four hits and two runs via a home run in a game that was back and forth against the Miami Marlins. It was the first homer he had allowed since May 23rd against the Milwaukee Brewers and only the third he had allowed all season, with the first coming in the Pirates’ opening series against the same Marlins. But Bednar did not let that bump in the road and relatively poor debut for the Yankees weigh him down. Instead, he continued doing what he had been doing with the Pirates up to that point.
Since the poor opening game against the Marlins, Bednar has been putting on a show in pinstripes. He has pitched 5.1 innings with only three walks and an impressive 10 strikeouts, including five in the Yankees’ nerve-racking 3-2 win against the Texas Rangers. He has not allowed a run and has only allowed one hit since that first outing against Miami, and he has been everything that was advertised.
When I was watching Bednar with the Pittsburgh skyline in the background, I was impressed with his game. It would have been hard for a casual fan to guess that the season prior, he had been one of the worst relievers in baseball over a full season and, at one point, had even been demoted. But when it comes to what he can do with his small but effective arsenal of a four-seam fastball, curveball, and splitter, it’s nothing short of impressive, no matter the uniform he’s donning.
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The last sentence of Peter’s profile on Bednar exactly nails the mold that the team needed to help bolster their bullpen, and he has come in and fit the bill. It reads: “The Yankees are said to be seeking a swing-and-miss weapon that can slot right into the final innings of a game, and they’d be hard-pressed to find a better option on the market than Bednar.”
The sample size for Bednar in a Yankee uniform is still minimal, but after having watched him in person and been around him in the Pirates clubhouse, I fully believe that Bednar can and will continue to be the real deal moving down the stretch.