3 bullpen targets who could justify Pirates’ risky draft pick gamble

Let's get one thing out of the way early: the Pittsburgh Pirates should not be reckless with the No. 34 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft.

They shouldn't treat it like a coupon for any reliever with a pulse. They shouldn't move it just to say they “addressed the bullpen.” And they definitely shouldn't surrender it for a rental middle reliever who does nothing to materially change the way Don Kelly manages the final three innings.

But if the Pirates are serious about hanging around the playoff race, they also cannot pretend their bullpen is good enough as currently constructed.

According to Ken Rosenthal, Pittsburgh is willing to trade its Competitive Balance pick, as well as prospects, in search of upgrades. Competitive Balance picks are the only draft picks that can be traded, so the Pirates' pick at No. 34 overall is real capital.

Last year, the Tampa Bay Rays traded the No. 37 overall pick to the Baltimore Orioles straight up for Bryan Baker, a quality late-inning reliever with multiple years of team control. That should be the Pirates’ baseline. If they move No. 34, the return has to be someone who reshapes the bullpen.

The bullpen has been the Pirates' most glaring flaw, ranking 20th in MLB with a 4.43 ERA and 26th with a 5.02 ERA since May 1. They need a closer, or at minimum a true leverage arm who allows everyone else to move back into a cleaner role. Gregory Soto is far more useful as a setup weapon than as the only late-inning answer, while Carmen Mlodzinski, Dennis Santana, Mason Montgomery and the rest of the group become more manageable when they're not all being asked to pitch one spot too high.

If the Pirates are going to gamble with the No. 34 pick, these are the types of bullpen targets who could actually justify it.

3 Relief pitchers the Pirates could target if they trade the No. 34 overall pick

Aroldis Chapman, LHP, Boston Red Sox

The Pirates already know the Aroldis Chapman experience. They had him in 2024, watched him overpower hitters, watched the volatility, and watched the uncomfortable baggage that has followed him throughout his career. But strictly from a baseball standpoint, Chapman is exactly the type of late-inning arm Pittsburgh lacks.

Even at this stage of his career, Chapman can still miss bats at a rate most relievers simply cannot. He gives the Pirates a legitimate ninth-inning option, a power lefty who changes matchups immediately and a veteran who has pitched in just about every high-leverage environment imaginable.

Compared to Baker, Chapman is older, more expensive and more of a short-term play. That makes it harder to justify attaching the No. 34 pick in a clean one-for-one deal unless Boston is including money, the Pirates are receiving another piece, or Pittsburgh believes Chapman’s 2027 option adds enough value to stomach the cost.

Still, if the Pirates are going to trade a premium pick for immediate relief help, Chapman at least meets the most important requirement. He changes the bullpen hierarchy the second he walks through the door.

David Bednar, RHP, New York Yankees

This would be awkward. It would also make a lot of sense.

The Pirates traded David Bednar to the New York Yankees last summer, and a reunion less than a year later would invite plenty of questions about the original decision. But if Pittsburgh is looking for a reliever who checks the experience, familiarity and ninth-inning boxes, Bednar is an obvious name to monitor.

Bednar gives the Pirates a right-handed closer option, which would pair more naturally with Soto than asking Soto to handle every pocket of left-right matchups at the end of games. It would also give Kelly more flexibility instead of forcing the Pirates to chase leverage reactively every night.

The bigger question is whether the Yankees would actually move him. New York is rarely an obvious seller, and prying away their closer would be difficult. But Bednar is also headed toward free agency after the season, and the Yankees have rarely been sentimental when reshaping a bullpen. If New York decides it wants a different look late in games, the Pirates should be ready.

Whether Bednar alone would be worth the No. 34 pick is debatable. Because of the limited control, Pittsburgh should be careful about paying the full Baker-style price. But as part of a more creative deal, especially one involving money or an additional lower-level piece, Bednar would at least represent the kind of impact arm who makes the conversation defensible.

Antonio Senzatela, RHP, Colorado Rockies

Antonio Senzatela might be the cleanest fit of the three. He doesn't come with Chapman’s baggage or the emotional weirdness of a Bednar reunion. He doesn't require the Pirates to talk themselves into a pure rental. He's simply a pitcher whose move to the bullpen has completely changed his trade value.

Since shifting into a relief role for the Colorado Rockies, Senzatela has looked like a different pitcher, posting a 2.23 ERA over 22 appearances. The biggest change has been the way Colorado has altered his pitch mix and sequencing, particularly with heavier cutter usage.

Senzatela would give Pittsburgh a versatile, multi-inning reliever who can handle leverage without being boxed into one inning. He could protect a one-run lead in the seventh, bridge a short start, clean up traffic in the middle innings or potentially grow into a late-inning role depending on matchups.

That flexibility is valuable for a Pirates team built around young starting pitching. Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft can keep Pittsburgh in games, but the club still needs someone capable of preventing those games from spiraling once the starter exits. Senzatela’s ability to cover more than three outs could matter as much as any traditional save total.

Jim Bowden has identified Senzatela as one of the Rockies' most likely players to be moved at the deadline. Colorado should be motivated to capitalize while his bullpen conversion is working and while contenders are hunting for relief help.

If the Pirates want a reliever who offers immediate help, role flexibility and more than a few months of value, Senzatela is closer to the Baker model than Chapman or Bednar. He may not have the name recognition of a traditional closer, but he might be the better roster-building play.

Regardless, any of the three would at least show the Pirates understand the assignment. If they are going to gamble with one of the organization’s rare tradeable draft assets, the payoff has to be a bullpen arm who can immediately change the season.

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