Pittsburgh Pirates News: David Bednar Close to Returning

(Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
(Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been without their All-Star closer since the end of July. It looks like he will return before the season ends.

The Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen has not been the same since Will Crowe took over as closer. That is nothing against Crowe, who has had an excellent year until recently.  Crowe had to take over the closer role because All-Star Closer David Bednar has been on the shelf for nearly 2 months.

Bednar was having a really impressive year before his back started to act up. Still, on the year he owns a 2.70 ERA along with 17 saves.  This strong first half earned him his first All-Star game invitation, a game in which he would also pitch in.

Bednar first suffered a back injury back in June.  However, he took a few days off in the hope an Injury List stint would not be needed. Turns out that maybe he should have as he would once again hit the Injury List on August 3rd, retroactive to July 31st.

However, the good news is that the back injury must not have been overly serious.  Bednar is set to begin his rehab assignment tonight, obviously, if things were still in question they would probably play it safe and shut him down for the remainder of the year. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had the news first:

Still, for what? The Pittsburgh Pirates are not going anywhere, why work an important player if an injury is in question? That is exactly why.  There were some murmurs regarding Bednar going into the 2022 Trade Deadline.  He was hurt so a deal was not likely to happen.

Could the Pittsburgh Pirates be bringing Bednar back to show that he is once again healthy?  Maybe to let teams see him toward the end of the season as they gear up for their offseasons.  Now, I am not saying Bednar will be traded, he has years of contractual control through 2026.

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Either way, it is always good to have a premium closer.  Hopefully, Bednar comes back and is able to stay healthy and pitch effectively through the end of September. Outside of that, time will tell what his future will be here in Pittsburgh.