Yankees Reportedly Land Big Fish For Bullpen From Pirates On Deadline Day

The New York Yankees beefed up an already strong bullpen by grabbing the best remaining option on the reliever market in David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.

This continues the reliever fire sale across the league as the trade deadline clock continues to tick.

Bednar was sent down to Triple-A earlier this season but has been one of the league’s best closers since returning. Bednar had an abysmal 2024 season but rebounded nicely and has saved 17 games for the Pirates along with a 2.37 ERA and a 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Bednar also has one more season of team control before becoming a free agent. This has been an attractive factor to relievers at this season’s deadline, resulting in highly touted packages in return.

The Yankees are sending top catching prospect Rafael Flores and two others to the Pirates for Bednar, according to Jon Heyman. Flores is the Yankees’ No. 8 prospect, and with Austin Wells solidifying himself as the Bronx backstop, the Yankees capitalized on Flores’ value.

This was the final massive pillar to fall in the reliever market, and now teams will have to shift focus to the second tier of options that remain on the market. The next couple of players to keep an eye on are Minnesota Twins reliever Griffin Jax and St. Louis Cardinals righty Phil Maton.

The Yankees are trying to claw back and catch the Toronto Blue Jays, who have been active at the trade deadline, in making upgrades, including adding Shane Bieber on Thursday morning.

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