Yankees acquire David Bednar to solidify bullpen ahead of trade deadline

The Yankees have acquired their fourth player of the deadline, trading for two-time All-Star closer David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Going back to the Pirates, catcher Rafael Flores, the Yankees' No. 8 prospect, along with catcher/first baseman Edgleen Perez, their No. 14 prospect, and Brian Sanchez.

Bednar is having a great season with a 2.37 ERA, 33.1% strikeout rate, 51 strikeouts, a 1.96 FIP, a 1.11 WHIP, and a perfect 17 for 17 in save attempts. Bendar also has excellent metrics according to Baseball Savant, highlighted by his K% in the 95th percentile, giving the Yankees some much-needed swing and miss stuff in the back end of the bullpen.  

Bednar had a terrible start to the 2025 campaign, leading to him being sent down to AAA. However since his return to the big leagues, his swing-and-miss stuff has been elite since his return from Triple-A in mid-April, which more than salvaged his trade value Over his last 24 outings through Wednesday, Bednar struck out 29 and walked only five while giving up just one earned run.

Bednar won the NL Reliever of the Month award honors in the month of June, not allowing a run in 10 appearances, and hadn't given up a run since May until his last outing. Bednar is under team control for next year as well. With Luke Weaver and Devin Williams both becoming free agents at the conclusion of this season, it was big for them to acquire a reliever under contract for next year. 

The Yankees are still active in the reliever market before the trade deadline, which is about two and a half hours away at 6 p.m. ET. 

My thoughts on the trade: I love this trade. Bednar is a proven stud, providing some much-needed help in the back end of the bullpen. I still really want the Yankees to trade for another reliever and starter before the deadline, if possible. This is a solid start to deadline day, but the Yankees have to do more if they want a real shot at winning the World Series this year.