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Pittsburgh Pirates Rumors: Open to Offers for All-Star Pitcher
The Pittsburgh Pirates went from one of the best teams in Baseball to one of the worst within 3 months. A team who once sat at the top of the National League Central is now in the basement. So what do last-place teams do around this time of the year? They make deals.
According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Pittsburgh Pirates are open to trade offers for one of their pitchers. Now many expect them to get offers for their veterans on expiring contracts. Players like Rich Hill, Carlos Santana, and even Austin Hedges will most likely be traded by the deadline.
However, Heyman reports that the Pittsburgh Pirates are willing to listen to offers for closer David Bednar.
Pirates are telling teams they’d listen on All-Star closer David Bednar but the understanding is that he’d be difficult to move since he isn’t a free agent until 2027. The Pittsburgh native (another plus for the Bucs) has a 1.15 ERA.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 24, 2023
Everything about Heyman's tweet makes sense. First and formost the Pittbsurgh Pirates should be willing to listen to offers on their closer. Closers are volatile, we know this as we have seen many different closers come through the Pirates Organization over the last decade. Which makes the next point that closers are replaceable as well.
Now like Heyman says Bednar has plenty of team control left, meaning he would not come cheap to any team. Also, he is a Pittsburgh native, which would make it even a bit harder to pry him loose. This is one reason why a lot of fans do not want to trade Bednar.
Personally, I am fine with dealing him away. Some of the packages that get thrown around for elite closers would be worth it. If a team comes to the Pittsburgh Pirates and offers prospect-ready pieces such as a first baseman and a starting pitcher, you have to listen.
David Bednar, any reliever, should be sold high. Relievers are volatile and teams are willing to overpay to "fix" their bullpen for the playoffs. The difference is that Bednar is not "fixing" the Pittsburgh Pirates. He could be a big part of a winning team here, but they are not a winning team.
He pitches upwards of may 70 innings in a season. In the grand scheme of things, having a closer as a main building block does not seem necessary. It will be interesting to see if they trade him, but at the very least buckle up for some rumors.