TAMPA, Fla. — It was late 2023 when Yankees GM Brian Cashman visited his son Teddy at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. He was there as a parent, not a baseball executive. Then Pirates closer David Bednar, a Lafayette alum, stepped to a podium to deliver a speech about his experience as a student-athlete.
Cashman immediately switched from dad mode to GM mode. He approached Bednar after the talk.
“We’ve been trying to get you for years,” is how the conversation started. What nobody knew at the time was how or when it would end. It took nearly two more years. But the Yankees finally got their man last July, trading catchers Rafael Flores and Edgleen Perez and outfielder Brian Sanchez to Pittsburgh for the two-time All-Star closer.
The demotion that rebuilt Bednar’s career
Before the Yankees trade, Bednar hit rock bottom. After a rough opening series in Miami last April, three bad outings in four days, the Pirates optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. He had not pitched in the minors since 2019.
Bednar drove six hours west on I-80 with his wife, numb and frustrated. He had represented the Pirates at the All-Star Game in 2022 and 2023. He was a hometown hero in Pittsburgh. Now he was heading to the minor leagues.
“It was certainly humbling,” Bednar shared with NJ.com after Thursday’s spring training practice. “Regardless of how I felt about it, I had to just deal with the circumstances at hand. I had no other option than to turn it into a positive.”
He did exactly that. In five International League outings over 11 days, Bednar retired 15 of 16 hitters with seven strikeouts. The lone blemish was a two-out infield single. He was back with the Pirates after 18 days.
“I was consistent in the zone again, attacking guys,” Bednar said.
After rejoining Pittsburgh, Bednar posted a 1.70 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 37 innings over 39 games. That surge sealed the Yankees’ resolve to add him at the deadline.
Bednar thrived where others failed in the Bronx
The Yankees had been burned before by relievers who could not handle New York. Devin Williams proved too fragile for the Bronx, posting a 5.01 ERA as the booing sabotaged his confidence. Luke Weaver, the lovable 2024 postseason hero, was no longer an option after his velocity dropped from an exhausting World Series workload. Mark Leiter Jr. was convinced the Yankees ruined him by using him in low-leverage spots and stopped speaking to bullpen coach Mike Harkey for two months.
Bednar was different from the start. He blew the save in his Yankees debut in Miami on Aug. 1, part of a nightmare night for all four deadline acquisitions. But two appearances later, he threw 42 pitches, struck out five batters and recorded a five-out save to end the team’s five-game losing streak.
He finished with the Yankees going 7-for-7 in save opportunities with a 1.17 ERA over his final 14 appearances. For the full season, Bednar posted a 2.30 ERA with 27 saves in 66 outings. His 31.1% strikeout rate ranked in the 89th percentile among all MLB pitchers.
Bednar admitted the Yankees transition hit hard at first. “Coming over last year, it’s like drinking out of a fire hose,” he said. But he fell in love with the environment. “This place is awesome. The fans let you know what they want, they let you know they’re passionate. And the players here, Judge, went out of their way to make me comfortable.”
The Nomo splitter that makes Bednar elite
Bednar’s arsenal starts with a 98-mph fastball. But his most devastating weapon is a splitter he learned from Japanese legend Hideo Nomo during his developmental years in the Padres organization. Nomo was a special assistant with San Diego, and that introduction shaped Bednar’s career.
“It’s a little bit of a unique grip,” Bednar said. “I use more of the seams on the splitter, which I found is not quite as traditional. I really like it because I can still think about being aggressive, like a fastball down, then just let the grip do the work and trust it.”
The splitter produced a 36.2% whiff rate last season. Paired with a high-70s curve, Bednar has three pitches he can command in any count.
“He can go fastball up, splitter at the bottom of the zone, throw strikes, get swings and misses, get weak contact,” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “David’s makeup is great. Really competitive, really steady, cerebral enough without being an over-thinker. Just an overall good guy, great teammate.”
Boone wants Bednar as the bullpen’s leader in 2026
There is no competition for the ninth inning this spring. “My plan is for Bednar to close,” Boone said, with Fernando Cruz and Camilo Doval slotting into setup roles.
“It means a lot to have people who are your stars, or core players, just key pieces that are not divas,” Boone said. “He sets the right example all the time. He’s been through a lot in this game, rose to becoming really good, had struggles, got demoted, returned to form. So he’s been through a lot.”
Bednar still has one year of team control at $9 million before reaching free agency. He embraces the expanded role.
“I’ve had the vantage point of a lot of different things throughout the bullpen,” Bednar said. “I’ve been in a lot of different roles from closing games to last year I was optioned, so I understand the whole realm of it and I’m able to relate to a lot of different guys.”
In the never-ending search for the next Mariano Rivera, the Yankees may have found something just as valuable: a closer with elite stuff, no ego and the mental toughness to turn a six-hour drive to the minors into the best thing that ever happened to him.
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