Yankees Acquire David Bedna Yankees Acquire David Bedna
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2025 2:27 am
The Yankees have added one the biggest prizes of the relief market to their bullpen, acquiring from the Pirates for Jon Lester Jersey catching prospect , minor league catcher , and minor league outfielder . Bednar, 30, has been a staple of the Pirates bullpen for five years. The hard-throwing 61 righty is making $5.9MM this season and is under club control for one more year. Hes owed about $1.87MM of that sum for the balance of the season, though the Yankees will have to pay a 110% luxury tax on him, making the total financial outlay closer to $3.9MM. Yankees relievers have been mediocre on the season overall, sitting 21st in the majors with a 4.24 ERA. However, theyve been the second-worst group in baseball over the past month, recording a 6.29 ERA thats worst in the American League and leads only the Rockies among all 30 teams. Struggles from and have played a significant role, and the Yankees have also been without and in that time. Cruz has an oblique strain, and Leiter has a stre s fracture in his fibula. Bednar, a two-time All-Star, will provide some much-needed support. Although he struggled through a brutal 2024 season and had a rough start to his 2025 campaign, those hardships feel like a distant memory. The Bucs optioned him to Triple-A in late March, and Bednar has been an absolute behemoth since returning. In 37 frames, hes posted a dazzling 1.70 ERA with a 34.5% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate. Its some of the best work of Bednars career even better than what had been a 2021-23 peak that saw him post a combined 2.25 ERA, 31.2% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate. Bednar is averaging 97.1 mph on his heater this season. His curveball, the rightys go-to secondary pitch, is sitting nearly 20 mph slower. Bednar also features a splitter thats averaging 92.3 mph this year. Hes used that arsenal to induce chases off the plate at an excellent 34.4% clip and garnered a 12.7% swinging-strike rate as well. Left-handed opponents, in particular, have been flummoxed by Bednar. Theyre hitting just .162/.240/.276 against him. His mastery over lefties is all the more important, given Yankee Stadiums short right-field porch. That Bednar is controllable for an additional season surely holds extra appeal for the Yankees, given that both Weaver and Williams are both set to reach free agency at seasons end. Bednar can pitch in any high-leverage role nece sary in 2025 and could step into the ninth inning for the 2026 season, depending on whether Williams and/or Weaver are retained. After striking the deal for Bednar, the Yankees further augmented their bullpen from the Giants and from the Rockies. Flores, 24, is the big get for the Pirates in return. He ranked eighth among Yankees prospects on Baseball Americas recent update on their system. He opened the season at the Double-A level and ripped through opposing pitchers at a .287/.346/.496 clip (146 wRC+) before being recently promoted to Triple-A. Hes hitting just .211/.288/.289 there, but thats in a tiny sample of 49 plate appearances. Overall, Flores is hitting .279/.351/.475 between the two levels. Hes never had a below-average year offensively in the minors. Flores has already popped 16 homers on the season, leaving him just five shy of his career-high mark. Hes listed at 64 and 230 pounds, making him on the larger end for a catcher. Hes viewed as more of a bat-first option whose calling card is raw power, and Flores has accordingly spent a fair bit of time at first base as well. The Pirates have been searching for a catcher of the future for what feels like an eternity. They selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft and acquired both and via trade in recent years. Theyve also cycled through veterans like , and several other journeymen over the course of the past five to six years. Despite the sizable investment and cast of rotating characters, none have managed to stick. Its a similar situation at first base. Neither Davis nor Rodriguez has staked a claim to the position. Pittsburgh acquired over the winter in hopes that he could hold the position down for years to come. Its too early to firmly pa s judgment on that acquisition, particularly after Horwitz mi sed the first few months of the season due to wrist surgery, but his .252/.323/.359 batting line through his first 229 plate appearances surely isnt what the Pirates had hoped to see. Flores adds another po sible option to the mix in the long term, though the Bucs will hope that he can handle catching work while Horwitz improves his production at first base. The other two players in the swap are further from big league readine s. Perez, 19, has spent the season with the Yankees Cla s-A affiliate. Hes turned in a disappointing .209/.368/.236 batting line in 380 trips to the plate. Hes considered a solid defensive catcher and still ranked 16th among Yankee prospects at BA despite his struggles this year, due in large part to his glove and his exceptional pitch recognition. As Baseball America points out in their scouting report, he chased off the plate than any player in the minors last year (just 7.7%). Perez walked in nearly 21% of his plate appearances last season and is at 17.9% in 2025. If Perez can begin to hit the ball with more authority as he fills out physically, he has the potential to be an OBP-focused hitter who can stick behind the plate. He has below-average power, but players with this type of discipline and swing decisions can still be impactful, particularly if theyre playing serviceable defense behind the plate. Sanchez, 21, ranked 24th on BAs update of the Yankees system. Hes having a nice season in A-ball, hitting .281/.373/.438 with four home runs, 16 doubles, five triples and 24 steals (in 28 attempts). Hes drawn a walk in 12.6% of his plate appearances against a 23.4% strikeout rate. Hes an above-average runner whos capable of handling center field and could likely be above-average in the corners. None of the three players acquired by the Pirates are on the 40-man roster, though theyll need to add Flores to the 40-man before mid-November in order to protect him from this years Rule 5 Draft. Neither Perez nor Sanchez needs to be protected until the 2027-28 offseason. Adding a near-MLB-ready catcher/first baseman and a pair of mid-range prospects from the Yankees system is a fine return in and of itself, though therell surely be a contingent of Pirates fans frustrated by the teams repeated inability to secure long-term options at these positions and that said inability has led them to expend another high-end trade chip in an effort to do so. This post was originally published at 1:50pm. Drew Rom Jersey