Pirates’ David Bednar Sent Down to Minor Leagues
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made a shocking move, as they sent one of their mainstays in the bullpen down to the minor leagues.
The Pirates announced that they brought up right-handed pitcher Thomas Harrington to the 40-man roster. They designated catcher Jason Delay for assignment to make room for this move on the 40-man roster, then optioned right-handed pitcher David Bednar to Triple-A Indianapolis to make room on the 26-man active roster.
We have selected the contract of RHP Thomas Harrington to the 26-man Major League roster.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 1, 2025
C Jason Delay has been designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster, and RHP David Bednar has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis to make room on the 26-man active roster.
Bednar had a poor start to this season for the Pirates, as he struggled in their opening series vs. the Miami Marlins on the road.
He allowed a leadoff triple in the series opener with the game tied at 4-4, eventually resulting in a walk-off.
Bednar also allowed a two-run home run in the second game on March 28, which he eventually got the save for a 4-3 win, and then threw a wild pitch, as the Marlins walked it off again for a 5-4 win in the series finale.
He had two losses in three games pitched and a 27.00 ERA over 1.0 innings pitched.
Bednar also struggled last season for the Pirates, with a 3-8 record, a 5.77 ERA in 57.2 innings pitched in 62 games, 23 saves and seven blown saves in 30 opportunities.
He started off the season poorly, blowing three saves in his first four save opportunites, but managed to get things back on track, and avoiding a blown save from April 12-Aug. 3.
Bednar struggled again in August, as the Pirates went 8-19 in the month after spending time competing for a National League wild card spot.
He blew saves in back-to-back games against the San Diego Padres at home on Aug. 7 and Aug. 8 and lost games with the score tied against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 11 and the Texas Rangers on Aug. 21, both on the road,
Pirates manager Derek Shelton removed Bednar as the primary closer on Aug. 30, going by committee the rest of the season.
Bednar starred for the Pirates the previous two seasons, earning himself back-to-back All-Star appearances. He led the National League with 39 saves in 42 opportunites in 2023 with a 2.00 ERA in 67.1 innings pitched, and had 19 saves in 23 opportunites in 2022, with a 2.61 ERA in 51.2 innings pitched.
Pittsburgh landed Bednar in a three-team trade back on Jan. 19, 2021. They traded starting pitcher Joe Musgrove to the San Diego Padres for left-handed pitcher Omar Cruz, right-handed pitcher Drake Fellows and outfielder Hudson Head and got catcher Endy Rodriguez from the New York Mets.
Bednar hails from the Pittsburgh area, playing for Mars High School in Mars, Pa. and then pitched for Lafayette. The Padres selected him in the 35th round, the 1,044 overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft.
He pitched in the Padres minor league system for three years before earning a call-up to the Padres on Sept. 1, 2019. He also pitched for the Padres in the 2020 season with a 7.11 ERA and five strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.