The Pittsburgh Pirates have demoted two-time All-Star closer David Bednar to Triple-A Indianapolis, the team announced Tuesday. The move opens a roster spot for right-hander Thomas Harrington, who will start Tuesday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. It will be his MLB debut. Harrington is Pittsburgh’s No. 3 prospect.
Bednar, 30, has retired only three of the nine batters he’s faced in his three appearances this season, and he was tagged with the loss in two of the team’s three walk-off losses to the Miami Marlins this past weekend. In the one save he did nail down, Bednar allowed a two-run home run to turn a three-run lead into a nail-biter one-run win.
From 2021-23, Bednar was simply one of the most dominant relievers in the sport, throwing 179 2/3 innings with a 2.25 ERA and 226 strikeouts. He finished eighth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2021 and was an All-Star in both 2022 and 2023. Bednar struggled badly last year though (5.77 ERA in 57 2/3 innings), and was removed from the closer’s role in August.
Thanks to his 2021-23 success, Bednar is making $5.9 million this season, making him Pittsburgh’s fifth-highest paid player behind Mitch Keller ($15 million), Bryan Reynolds ($12 million), Isiah Kiner-Falefa ($7.5 million), and Ke’Bryan Hayes ($7 million). Without improvement, Bednar could get non-tendered after the season given his escalating salaries.
There is not much of a service time component to Bednar’s demotion. He must spend at least 97 days in the minors to push his free agency back from the 2026-27 offseason to the 2027-28 offseason. If Bednar performs poorly enough that keeping him in Triple-A for more than three months is defensible, than the extra year of control won’t be all that valuable.
Now that Bednar has been demoted, the Pirates are likely to use a closer by committee, with lefty Caleb Ferguson joining righties Colin Holderman and Dennis Santana in the late-inning mix. Holderman would be most likely to get the closer’s job if Pirates manager Derek Shelton opts for one set guy in the ninth inning.
Bednar, a Pittsburgh native, was acquired from the San Diego Padres in the Joe Musgrove trade a few years ago. The Pirates are 1-4 on the young season.
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