The New York Yankees have gone from having one of the best records in baseball to third place in the American League East. Their bullpen has struggled as of late.
The New York Yankees have gone from having one of the best records in baseball to third place in the American League East. Their bullpen has struggled as of late.
On Friday, Luke Weaver gave up a home run for the third consecutive game. He has not looked sharp since his return from the injured list. While Weaver was hurt, Devin Williams seemed to find himself, but even he gave up two runs and picked up a loss in his last outing. The Yankees' bullpen is full of players going through rough stretches.
The Yankees need to start playing better baseball if they want to live up to their high expectations. The Athletic's Brendan Kuty suggested the Yankees trade for David Bednar of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
"Bednar, 30, has 12 saves for the Pirates, who will be sellers," wrote Kuty. "His 12.74 strikeouts per nine innings going into Friday would fit nicely into a bullpen that’s had trouble fanning hitters of late, and his 97 mph average fastball and curveball combo would be a different look among changeup-heavy arms. He was No. 25 on the Big Board, and he’s under team control through next season."
Bednar was an All-Star in 2022 and 2023. He led the National League in saves in 2023, but struggled last season. His struggles continued into this season, and he was sent to Triple-A after three games. However, he has looked sharp since returning.
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Since returning to the big leagues, he has a 1.88 ERA and 11 saves. The Yankees may want to stick with Williams after he has started to look more like himself, but Bednar would give them another option to close games. He would be an elite set up man for Williams at the very least.
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Category: Baseball
