Derek Shelton treads lightly when asked about David Bednar's role with Pirates

To put it kindly, the 2024 season was a humbling one for Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander David Bednar.

To put it less lightly, it was the worst season of his career. Bednar finished with a 3-8 record, a career-high 5.77 ERA and seven blown save opportunities. His poor performance became magnified during the Pirates' second-half meltdown that saw them fall short in several close games and sent them plummeting to the bottom of the National League Central standings.

Once one of the most consistent closers in baseball over the previous three seasons, Bednar had suddenly become a liability, forcing manager Derek Shelton to remove him from the closer role in late August. At the time, it was presumed to be a temporary move to allow Bednar to get back on track; but now, it's unclear whether the role will even be his in 2025.

Derek Shelton treads lightly when asked about David Bednar's role with Pirates

During a recent appearance on "Foul Territory," Shelton downplayed Bednar's disastrous 2024 season, calling it a "blip" in an otherwise successful career. However, when asked point blank if Bednar was going to be the Pirates' closer in 2025, Shelton hesitated to commit.

"I don't think we're ready to say that," Shelton said. "But I think we feel very good with the fact that we have a guy who was a two-time All-Star closer."

Last season was full of ups and downs for Bednar, who walked 28 batters and gave up nine home runs – both of which were the highest season totals of his career – in 57 2/3 innings of work. He also finished with other career worsts in hits allowed (54), runs (40), earned runs (37), strikeouts (58) and WHIP (1.422).

Injuries may have played a role in Bednar's struggles last year, as he missed most of spring training with a lat injury. He was also sidelined briefly with a left oblique injury in the middle of the season, which happened just as he was starting to hit a stride with 10 straight appearances in which he did not allow an earned run.

Bednar continued to struggle with his command when he returned from the oblique injury after the All-Star break, leading to his eventual demotion from the closer role. While Shelton has confidence that Bednar will return to his pre-2024 form, last season's struggles still gave him pause.

"I think as we get through spring training, we'll have a better idea of where the command's at," Shelton said. "But [I] fully expect him to bounce back. You don't sit in that spot and do the ninth inning for two years to the level that he did without being really talented... It's in there."

Just two seasons ago, Bednar led the league in saves (39), recorded a 2.00 ERA and set career bests in innings pitched (67 1/3), home runs allowed (3) and strikeouts (80). There's still plenty of reason for optimism that Bednar's 2024 season was merely an outlier; now, the pressure is on him to prove that it was.

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