Pirates' David Bednar trade with Yankees looks even worse after recent injury

The Pittsburgh Pirates sent David Bednar to the New York Yankees at the trade deadline in a swap that has been highly criticized. General manager Ben Cherington sent the All-Star closer for a package of three prospects. This deal netted the Bucs catchers Rafael Flores and Edgleen Perez, along with outfielder Brian Sanchez.

If you thought this trade couldn't get any worse based on the package alone, then think again. The Pirates’ end of the deal is somehow already beginning to sour, as Brian Sanchez was recently placed on the 60-day IL, which all but brings an end to his season.

Sanchez was putting up quality numbers for the Yankees’ A-Ball affiliate this year, slashing .281/.373/.437 with a .386 wOBA and 129 wRC+ over 286 plate appearances. Although he didn’t hit for much power, with four home runs and a .157 isolated slugging percentage, the outfielder flashed above-average raw strength with an 88.9 MPH exit velocity.

Sanchez was also an effective baserunner, going 24-for-28 in stolen base attempts, and drew walks in 12.6% of his plate appearances. He struck out 23.4% of the time with a respectable 25.4% whiff rate.

The Pirates' David Bednar trade gets worse before it can get better.

While Sanchez was an unranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, Baseball America had the young outfielder among the Yankees’ top 30 prospects. Their write-up on him does not make one especially optimistic, and that analysis came prior to the lengthy absence. Baseball America projects him to be a fourth outfielder on a good team, or a second division regular, with the only tool that projects as above-average being his speed. They project his fielding and arm strength as aveage, with his hit tool getting a 45, and his power getting just a 40 grade.

What makes this injury even worse is that it’s not as if the Pirates and Ben Cherington didn’t know there were concerns about Sanchez’s health prior to the deal. The Yankees placed him on the seven-day IL on July 25. He has not appeared in a game since July 18. Now with this 60-day IL stint, Sanchez’s season is over. To say that this was unexpected would be completely ignoring the red flags from the start, which it seems like Cherington did.

The severity of Sanchez’s injury is not yet known, at least to the public. The big problem here is the Pirates essentially were okay with a third of the return for a top-five closer in baseball, with control remaining through 2026, being an outfielder who missed about half of this season. Given that Sanchez is missing so much time, one has to be concerned about his long-term outlook. The light return for Bednar feels even worse barely even a week later, and all of this just screams incompetence from Ben Cherington.