The Yankees addressed their needs on the offensive end with deals for Ryan McMahon, Amed Rosario and Austin Slater. With the deadline quickly approaching, they filled one more by trading for Pirates closer David Bednar.
New York reportedly beat out the Rangers, among others, for Bednar, becoming the latest contender to snag a late-inning reliever before Thursday's deadline.
Bednar is a two-time All-Star, but he struggled in 2024 and was optioned to the minor leagues early this season. That stint in the minors seemingly fixed him, as Bednar went more than two months without allowing an earned run from mid-May through Monday and has a 2.37 ERA on the season.
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Here's how the Yankees and Pirates made out in their deadline deal.
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David Bednar trade grades
Yankees grade: A
- Yankees receive: CL David Bednar
The Yankees could not come away from the deadline without a late-inning reliever, and Bednar was one of the top options available. After a rough stretch in 2024 and the early days of 2025, he is missing bats and doing a nice job of limiting walks to put up numbers that mirror his two All-Star seasons in Pittsburgh.
No reliever is necessarily a sure thing — Devin Williams was as untouchable as any relief arm in baseball before arriving in New York and struggling — but the Yankees did well to land a player who has pitched at an All-Star level both in the past and over the last three months at a fairly affordable cost.
What the Yankees gave up for Bednar certainly isn't nothing, but it's a solid value compared to the cost commanded by other standout relievers, including Mason Miller and Jhoan Duran. Bednar doesn't offer the upside of Miller or Duran, but he is a viable alternative and also comes with a year of control beyond 2025.
MORE: Grading the Ryan McMahon deal to Yankees
New York can survive the loss of Flores, who is an older prospect and hasn't yet proven himself in Double-A, while Edgleen Perez and Brian Sanchez still have a long way to go in a system that has not done a terrific job of developing hitters.
There was no path to winning the AL East for the Yankees without an improved bullpen, and they now have someone who can take some of the pressure off Williams and Luke Weaver.
MORE: Grading the Padres-A's blockbuster Mason Miller deal
Pirates grade: B
- Pirates receive: C Rafael Flores, C/1B Edgleen Perez, OF Brian Sanchez
The Pirates did well to trade Bednar when he's hot, rather than waiting for the offseason and risking a second-half regression.
Bednar still has more than a year of control remaining, so he could have been part of a more competitive season in Pittsburgh next year, but there is no path to competitiveness for the Pirates without an injection of offense. Flores should be MLB-ready by 2026, and their hope will be that he can bring some more life to a sleepy lineup.
Pirates fans likely would have preferred to see the organization bring in a decisively better return for Bednar than the Cardinals did for Ryan Helsley, who is a free agent after the season. It's not clear that they got it. Jesus Baez arguably offers more upside for St. Louis than Flores does for Pittsburgh, and Perez needs plenty of offensive development from a farm system that has shown an inability to develop hitters.
With the relief market so strong for sellers, it feels like the Pirates could have gotten a mildly stronger return. Still, if Flores turns into a plus-hitter at the MLB level, this could easily be a win for the Pirates given their desperation to find bats.