David Bednar has been traded to the New York Yankees. One of the Yankees top prospects will be the headliner in return.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have made a trade with the New York Yankees that involved their star closer, David Bednar. In return the Pirates will get back the Yankees #8 prospect, C Rafael Flores. Flores is a 24 year old catcher that has played the majority in AA this season. In 87 games with the Somerset Patriots, Flores slashed .287/.346/.496 with 15 home runs and 66 walks, but had 96 strikeouts. On July 19th 2025, he was promoted to AAA where he has played 10 games and has slashed .211/.388/.289 with just 1 home run and 13 strike outs. In addition to getting Flores, the Pirates also received the Yankees #14 prospect, C/1B Edgleen Perez and LF, Brian Sanchez.

The New York Yankees are finalizing a trade to acquire closer David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates, sources tell ESPN. Deal is pending medical review.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2025

David Bednar was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates back on Jan 19th 2021 in a three team deal that included the San Diego Padres and the New York Mets. The Pirates traded starting pitcher, Joe Musgrove and received C, Endy Rodriquez, RHP, David Bednar, OF Hudson Head, RHP Drake Fellows, and LHP Omar Cruz in return. As of today, Bednar has been the only serviceable player in that trade.

During Bednar’s time in Pittsburgh, he has been nothing short of incredible. In 2021, he finished his first season with a 2.23 ERA in 61 games striking out 77 batters with a 0.97 whip. He followed that season with 2 more sub 3 ERA years in 2022 and 2023 and was considered one of the top closers in the game after just a few seasons with the Pirates. In 2024 he struggled with command issues and it showed through out the season. He had a career high in walks with 28. His whip was a 1.42 and also had a career low in strike outs with only 58 on the season. He figured out his problems this year and after a short stint in minor leagues, he has become his old self and has been dominant since the end of May. as of today, Bednar is sitting with a 2.37 ERA in 42 games with 17 saves. He only has 17 walks on the season with 51 strikeouts and a whip of just 1.11.

The New York Yankees have been struggling with their bullpen all season. Their bullpen ERA this season is 4.16 which is currently the 10th worst in all of baseball. Getting David Bednar for the rest of this season and one more year of control after will help solidify the back of their bullpen. It is a good move for the Yankees if they want to go back to the World Series in 2025.

Time will tell if this trade will benefit the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the lack of return for an elite closer with control will likely keep discourage the fanbase> It seems to be always about the “future” with this organization and not about the “now”.