Two years ago, David Bednar was in the midst of his second All-Star season.
Now, he’s heading to the minor leagues.
Bednar, after a rough opening weekend for the Pirates, was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday as the team brought up right-handed prospect Thomas Harrington.
The 30-year-old closer struggled for large chunks of 2024 with a 5.77 ERA and 1.42 WHIP as he recorded 23 saves — 16 fewer than his NL-leading 39 the year before.
This season got off to an inauspicious start in Miami when he came into a tie ballgame in the ninth, allowing a triple, an intentional walk and a walk-off hit to take the loss on Opening Day.
The Pittsburgh native did come back the next day to earn his first save of the year, but not before allowing a two-run homer.
Pitching in his third straight game on Sunday, Bednar imploded in the ninth inning of the rubber game of the series when he allowed a leadoff single and stolen base before uncorking a game-ending wild pitch.
After three eventful innings, Bednar carries a 27.00 ERA and he’s allowed more earned runs (three) than recorded strikeouts (one).
“It’s a challenging conversation, just No. 1 because of who David is as a person and actually what he’s done over the course of his time with the Pirates,” manager Derek Shelton said Tuesday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But, more importantly, I think it’s important for us. We have to get him right. He’s going to be a big part of our bullpen. We see him going down, getting right, coming back and being part of our bullpen.
“But it’s a challenging conversation, but right now, it’s about making sure we get David Bednar back to the status he was before.”
Shelton has not named a closer to replace Bednar yet.
Pittsburgh takes on the Rays on Tuesday as Harrington makes his major league debut.