2 internal options, 1 free agent to replace Pirates' David Bednar following demotion

The David Bednar struggles have been very frustrating in recent memory, which sprouted in 2024 and has carried back over into 2025, leading to his demotion to Triple-A. That unreliability in the closer spot has already lost the Pirates two games to begin the year in the Miami series.

To get over the 76-win hump, Pittsburgh needs to follow their strong rotation with effective relievers, which may require new roles in the bullpen.

Altering roles in the bullpen makes a lot of sense right now, especially to give Bednar a chance to work things out in a lower level, allowing him to find his stuff without the pressure of the ninth inning. There are various options out there, and even someone who's unsigned that could handle the job.

2 internal options to replace Pirates' David Bednar following demotion

Justin Lawrence

After getting added during spring training, has Justin Lawrence emerged as a closer option. So far, Lawrence has tossed two innings, striking out three, allowing two hits, and one earned run. What makes him an option as the closer is his strikeout capability of his two great pitches.

His four-seam fastball and sinker come in around 95 mph. Both move a lot with the sinker gaining 28.6 inches of vertical drop and 16.8 inches of horizontal break. His fastball is not used much, but gets 23 inches of vertical drop and 18.1 inches of horizontal movement. Those two go nicely with a really strong sweeper, a pitch hovering around 83 mph with 32.8 inches of vertical drop and 18.4 inches of break towards his arm side.

So far he has limited batters to soft contact and has generated an above-average chase rate. Lawrence is definitely an option to try, especially since batters struggle against two tough pitches.

Dennis Santana

After getting claimed off of waivers last season, Dennis Santana has been a bright spot in the Pirates' bullpen. Expectations were low for him, but he was a pleasant surprise and has gotten off to a solid start to 2025, which could put him into a closing role.

Through two appearances, Santana has tossed 1 1/3 innings allowing no hits, no runs and two walks, with three strikeouts. He has been really strong with generating swings and misses (64.3%, 28.2% in 2024) and inducing soft contact (52.5 mph, 86.3 mph in 2024). Both of those are key when closing games.

Santana has a really nasty slider along with four other pitches. He is definitely a realistic guy to expect to get this closing job after an impressive start to his Pirates career. He also did earn a save in 2024 amid the previous Bednar struggles.

1 free agent to replace Pirates' David Bednar following demotion

David Robertson

Lastly is David Robertson, the soon-to-be 40-year-old reliever who remains unsigned. The fact he's still a free agent is really surprising, given his impressive 2024 season with Texas. He has 177 career saves, so closing is not new to the veteran, so maybe the Pirates could add him to the roster for relatively cheap.

In 2024, Robertson posted a 3.00 ERA with a 2.65 FIP and a K/9 of 12.38. His 1.11 WHIP stemmed from an opposing batting average of .201 and a walk rate of 9.1%. He was dominant with the Rangers, but still remains a free agent. Why that is, we do not know, but the Pirates should totally take advantage of his unsigned talents as the high-leverage roles remain shaky.