Pirates trade Bednar for Yanks' No. 8 prospect and more

After much speculation about his future with the club, the Pirates traded closer David Bednar to the Yankees on Thursday. In exchange, the Bucs received catcher/first baseman Rafael Flores -- the Yankees’ No. 8 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline -- catcher/first baseman Edgleen Perez (No. 14) and outfielder Brian Sanchez.

TRADE DETAILS
Pirates get: C/1B Rafael Flores, C/1B Edgleen Perez and OF Brian Sanchez
Yankees get: RHP David Bednar

The final days and hours before the Deadline had plenty of elite relievers and closers swap teams, and the two-time All-Star was certainly in that mix. But for someone who was a local kid -- a graduate of nearby Mars Area High School -- and having one of the best seasons of his career, the decision to move him to try to improve the 2026 club did not come lightly.

“There may not be a single player that I've been around in my career who checked all three of the following boxes: perform on the field, perform off the field and in the community and be from the city. Pretty special combination,” general manager Ben Cherington said over Zoom on Thursday evening after the Deadline had passed. “He was a great Pirate. There's no question about it. I have great admiration for him. He's going to do well going forward. So that made this a very difficult one for us.

“And also, [it was] very clear that we get to the point sometimes where trading a player like that -- and adding more talent back into the organization that we can grow with -- is simply part of building a winning team in Pittsburgh. There's a pretty long history of the Pirates trading closers who turn into the next thing, and it's worked out well in the past. Obviously, we hope this one works out well for us in its own way.”

Bednar’s season got off to a very shaky start, being optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis after taking two losses in the opening series in Miami, but he returned to top form since being recalled in mid-April. He is a perfect 17-for-17 in save opportunities this year and went 23 straight appearances without allowing an earned run from May 24-July 26.

The two-time All-Star became a favorite in Pittsburgh for his local ties and his performance on the field. He is one of five Pirates to accrue 100 saves with the club since the stat became official in 1969.

The Pirates do have other options for players who could pitch the ninth, though. Dennis Santana has done it at times this year and has been terrific in his first full season in Pittsburgh, pitching to a 1.36 ERA over 46 1/3 innings. Isaac Mattson and Braxton Ashcraft have also emerged as leverage relievers who could pitch late innings, too.

And there’s no denying the Pirates need more bats.

Flores, 24, is considered to be close to Major League-ready, splitting time with the Double-A Somerset Patriots and the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. He has slashed .279/.351/.475 with 16 home runs this year between the two levels.

“This is a player who we really believe can be a strong defensive and offensive catcher,” Cherington said. “Again, as we build toward 2026, I think he gives us all kinds of options. We feel like we've made a position of strength at the catching position even stronger, and we'll have opportunities to figure out how that plays into the 2026 roster. So for now, he'll go to Indianapolis, and we'll get him on the ground there and get him playing and get to know him better.”

Flores needs to be added to the roster this winter or be exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. He now becomes the Pirates' No. 11 prospect.

Perez, 19, is more of a project. Considered to be the best defensive catching prospect in the Yankees’ system, he boasts a 60-grade arm (per MLB Pipeline) and a 55-grade fielding tool. There is offensive upside too, though he has slashed just .209/.368/.236 at Single-A Tampa. He becomes Pittsburgh's No. 15 prospect.

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Sanchez, 21, is also in Single-A, where he has slashed .281/.373/.438.

There were several high-profile relievers with extra years of control who netted top 100 prospects in return, like Jhoan Duran and Mason Miller. The Pirates did not get one of those types of prospects for Bednar, but Cherington spoke highly of the package they received in return.

“We had access to players who were ranked in the way that you were describing,” Cherington said. “We did, and we preferred this package. Obviously, every team is going to assess the players a little bit differently, and sometimes, that could be different from the public rankings also. It was our estimation -- and our opinion -- that this was not just a really strong collection of talent to get for David Bednar, but also the best one that we had access to in this market.”