Pittsburgh Pirates: Proposing a David Bednar Trade to the Yankees

The Pittsburgh Pirates are still rebuilding and holding on to an elite closer would not make sense if a team offered a deal they couldn’t refuse. With the addition to Colin Holderman, the Pirates could look to ship Bednar to a team competing this year for a huge haul. The first team that comes to mind is the New York Yankees. 

David Bednar to the New York Yankees

David Bednar is having a career year with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He currently has 17 saves on the season with a 2.96 ERA in 45.2 innings pitched. Bednar is only walking batters 7.8% of the time and has a ground ball rate of 32.4%.

He made the All-Star Game and pitched 1 inning without giving up a hit to some of the best players in the game. He also has 58 strike outs in just 38 games played this season. He is a home grown talent that Pittsburgh Pirates fans really enjoy having on this team. However, if the Yankees decide to overpay for him, the Pirates have to consider it.

The New York Yankees most recently lost one of their best relievers in Michael King due to an elbow fracture. He is out for the year and the Yankees will most likely be looking to replace him by the trade deadline. This may be the best year the Yankees have to win the World Series in quite some time, so they may be willing to over pay to get a guy like Bednar in their bullpen. Bednar would cost a lot more because he isn’t a one year rental. Here is what the trade could look like;

If the New York Yankees offered this deal to the Pittsburgh Pirates, they would have to consider it. All 3 of these prospects would help this organization for the future. Jasson Dominguez‘s value has dropped this season in many prospect rankings, but he is still believed by many as a future solid MLB player once fully developed.

He is currently batting .271 with 10 HR and 21 stolen bases on the season. He has an OPS of .828 and has great plate discipline. Keep in mind he is still only 19 years old and most recently was promoted to High A ball. He is currently ranked as the no. 3 prospect in the Yankees system according to MLB Pipeline.

The next prospect the Pirates would get is LHP Ken Waldichuk. He would have to be included in this trade because he is very close to the majors and is a starting caliber pitcher the Pirates could have for the foreseeable future.

He is currently in AAA and has great results thus far. In 9 starts with the Triple-A RailRiders, he has a 3.27 ERA in 41.1 innings pitched with 60 strike outs. On the season, he has a 2.44 ERA in 15 starts with 106 strikeouts. He is currently ranked as the Yankees no. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

The last prospect that would be the deciding factor in if this trade is LHP, JP Sears. He has spent the majority of the time in Triple-A this season with the Yankees and has been nothing short of impressive. In 10 games, he made 8 starts with an ERA of 1.83 with 50 strike outs in 39.1 innings pitched.

He had cup of coffee with the Yankees as well, pitching 22.1 innings with the big league club in 7 appearances. He currently has a 2.05 ERA in the major leagues this season with 15 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of just .184. Sears is currently ranked as the #23 prospect in the Yankees system according to MLB Pipeline.

Ben Cherington most recently stated in regards to the Daniel Vogelbach trade that they were not going to trade him for an A ball player. He clearly is looking to improve the big league club and both of these pitchers will impact the team very soon if traded to the Pirates.

Time will tell if the Pittsburgh Pirates look to trade Bednar at the trade deadline, but if the do the Yankees would be a good trade destination if this is the type of package they are willing to offer.