David Bednar’s Price Seemingly Increases as Teams Seek Bullpen Help

The New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers are all still fighting for bullpen arms in the final hours before Thursday’s trade deadline.

Now, their task of acquiring one reliever just got even harder. According to MLB insider Bob Nightengale, David Bednar’s asking price has increased after a few trades happened on Wednesday.

“The price tag for Pirates closer David Bednar now rising with the Yankees, Tigers, Dodgers, Mariners all looking for bullpen help,” Nightengale wrote in a post on X.

Bednar has 1 1/2 years of team control left, so he doesn’t have as much as Jhoan Duran did when he was traded. However, here is where things get complicated.

The New York Mets gave up two prospects in their top 12 for a rental in Tyler Rogers. Just hours later, they gave up their No. 6 prospect in a deal for Ryan Helsley. It secured the back end of the Mets bullpen, but other teams now pay the price.

Pittsburgh was reportedly already asking for a top-five prospect at a minimum, according to Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. If rentals are getting that kind of return, Bednar is bound to draw an even larger return with an extra year of team control.

Again, the Pirates don’t have to trade Bednar at all, or even Dennis Santana. With these prices, they would almost be foolish not to, but they don’t have to. The question now becomes whether any of the teams mentioned (Yankees, Dodgers, Tigers or even the Mariners) are willing to meet the Pirates’ price.

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