Pittsburgh Pirates: If David Bednar Is Traded, Who Is The Team’s Next Closer?

David Bednar could be traded during the deadline and if he is, what are the Pittsburgh Pirates’ next closing pitching options?

The Pittsburgh Pirates could end up trading David Bednar this trade deadline. The deadline is heating up, and many relievers have been moved for big hauls. The Chicago Cubs got a top 10 prospect from the New York Yankees for Scott Effross. The Milwaukee Brewers got a top 10 prospect and another top 30 prospect for Josh Hader, who was struggling and on a contract that expires after 2023. That package also included taking on the remains of Taylor Rogers and Dinelson Lamet’s contract.

Although I’m not too keen on the idea of trading Bednar, it’s a possibility that has to be considered. Bednar has been the Pittsburgh Pirates’ primary 9th inning option for most of the 2022 campaign. But if he is included in a trade, who is the Pirates’ next closer? Over the years the team has always done a good job of filling that spot in the bullpen.  However, there is no clear-cut option who has proven themselves a potential closer just yet.

So let’s take a look at some of the internal options that could be future backend of the bullpen-type arms.  These are some of the prospects who likely will be in this team’s bullpen in the near term future. This first prospect is a former starting pitcher turned successful reliever:

The most MLB-ready relief prospect is hard-throwing right-hander Tahnaj Thomas. Thomas made the complete transition to the bullpen in 2022 and has excelled since settling into the role. Since the outset of June, Thomas has had a 1.54 ERA, 2.31 FIP, and 1.03 WHIP. The big issue Thomas faced in previous seasons was a lack of command and dishing out a ton of walks. Throughout his last 23.1 innings, Thomas has a 5.4% walk rate. He’s striking out nearly 30% of batters faced while allowing just a single home run.

He is currently setting up Tyler Samaniego at Double-A Altoona. Samaniego was a 15th-round draft pick by the Pirates last year, and he’s been flat-out dominant at Greensboro and Altoona. In a total of 37.2 innings, the southpaw has a 1.91 ERA, 3.04 FIP, and .80 WHIP. Samaniego’s K% also sits right around 30%, coming in at 29.6%. He has an insane 57.1% ground ball rate, which has led to him posting a .24 HR/9. Although he does have an 11% walk rate on the season, he’s walked just 6.5% of batters since reaching Double-A. Impressively, Samaniego has been unscored upon in 27 of his 30 total outings.

Another arm to watch at Double-A is Luis Ortiz. Ortiz is currently starting games for Altoona but, as we previously looked at, would likely benefit from a move to the bullpen. Although Ortiz currently has an ERA and FIP over 5.00, he excels in the first two innings of a ball game. In innings one and two, Ortiz has a total of 37 innings with a 2.43 ERA, 3.62 FIP, and 1.00 WHIP. He has 39 K’s to just ten walks, leading to a K:BB ratio of 3.9. Plus, his HR/9 is a solid .97.