Maligned Pirates closer is silently finding himself down at Triple-A

At one point you could make a case that David Bednar was the best closer in the Majors. The two-time All-Star's career was at its zenith just two years ago, when he led the NL with 39 saves and recorded single-season bests of a 2.6 WAR, 2.00 ERA and 67.1 innings pitched, along with a 2.53 FIP and 1.099 WHIP.

As such, it was a shock to the system for Pirates fans when Bednar seemed to fall off a cliff in 2024 despite still managing 23 saves, producing a -0.9 WAR, 5.77 ERA, 4.80 FIP and 1.422 WHIP. The situation got so bad he eventually even lost his closer role.

The hope within the organization was this was just an off year, but the Pittsburgh native's disastrous form continued during spring training and into the new season. On Opening Day in Miami, he entered a tied ballgame for the ninth inning and proceeded to give up a walk-off hit and get tagged with the 'L'.

Bednar did manage to record a save the following day, but only after allowing two runs, before finishing the weekend with a wild pitch which lost the series against the Marlins. It really couldn't have gone much worse, with him only pitching one combined inning in total and managing just one strikeout.

As a result, the Pirates optioned the righty to Triple-A Indianapolis on Apr. 1, and it wasn't an April Fools' Day joke. At the time, as per Brian Murphy of MLB.com, manager Derek Shelton discussed the decision, noting: "It’s a challenging conversation just because of who David is as a person and what he's done over the course of his time with the Pirates. But more importantly, I think it's important for us -- we’ve got to get him right."

Well, based on what the Pirates have seen from Bednar so far in Indianapolis, he seems to be getting more than right. In fact he's been absolutely scintillating in four appearances, not allowing a single hit, walk or run in 4.0 combined innings, while also striking out five.

Pirates GM Ben Cherington not surprised by David Bednar's resurgence at Triple-A

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington spoke about the 30-year-old on Sunday, during his weekly radio show. As per Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cherington said: "He’s doing exactly what you’d expect him to do, which is to be really focused on what he wanted to accomplish while he’s in Triple-A. It’s all about clarity for him, having confidence in his mix of pitches and attacking hitters. Having the opportunity to pitch regularly, just to lock those things in, he’s been really effective, which isn’t surprising."

You can't imagine there's not much more Bednar can do to convince Shelton to recall him. At some point, the only way to find out if he's truly regained his confidence and form is to get him back on the mound against Major League bats.

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