Banished Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star Recalled After Dominant Minor League Stint

David Bednar gave up one hit in five appearances at Triple-A Indianapolis. The Pirates hope his season-opening woes are in the past.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar (51) throws a pitch during the fourth inning against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., on March 3, 2025. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Pittsburgh Pirates recalled right-hander David Bednar from Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday, hoping the longtime closer has worked through the issues that led to a disastrous start to the season.

Bednar pitched in three games of the Pirates’ season-opening series against the Miami Marlins.

We have recalled RHP David Bednar from Triple-A Indianapolis and placed LHP Tim Mayza on the 15-day injured list.

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 19, 2025

In the March 27 opener, he entered with the score tied 4-4 entering the bottom of the ninth and threw just eight pitches without getting an out as Kyle Stowers singled to drive in Nick Fortes, who led off with a triple.

The next night, he got the save but not without some drama. Entering the ninth with a 4-1 lead, he walked Matt Mervis, and Otto Lopez followed with a two-run homer. He retired the next three batters.

And in the final game of the series, Bednar again came into the game with the score tied in the ninth. Derek Hill reached base on an infield hit, stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Endy Rodriguez and scored on a Bednar wild pitch.

His closing line for the weekend: 0-2, 27.00 ERA, one save, one inning pitched and four runs (three earned).

That followed the worst of his four seasons in Pittsburgh, when he finished 2024 with a 3-8 record, 5.77 ERA, 23 saves and seven blown saves. He was an All-Star the two previous seasons.

The Pirates sent him to Triple-A on April 1, with manager Derek Shelton telling reporters that he had broken the news to Bednar, a 30-year-old Pittsburgh native.

“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," Shelton said. “But more importantly, I think it's important for us -- we’ve got to get him right."

He rose to the challenge at Indianapolis. In five appearances, he threw five scoreless innings, giving up one hit and no walks and striking out seven. He had three holds.

Shelton has used a bullpen by committee and wasn’t ready to commit to reinstating Bednar as the closer.

Bednar said he got the message from the team, and Shelton said he appreciated the pitcher taking the matter so seriously, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“The main message was get me right,” Bednar said. “Go down there, attack guys and be aggressive with all my stuff, and I felt like I was able to do that effectively down there. Looking to carry that momentum here. … I'm excited to be back.”

"I think the credit goes to David,” Shelton said Saturday afternoon. “He and I talked about it a little bit this morning. Being sent down is challenging, and it scares you a little bit, and it should. That's not a bad thing.

“But he went down and handled his business. He went down, he had good conversations with our pitching coaches down there. He had good conversations with Jeremy Bleich, our director of pitching. It wasn't like, 'Hey, I'm going to feel bad for myself, feel sorry or be in a situation where I'm going to waste days.' He wasted no days. That's why he's back this quickly."

In a corresponding move, the Pirates put lieft-hander Tim Meyza on the 15-day injured list.

The Pirates were 8-13 entering their game Saturday at home against the Cleveland Guardians.