There are few things that a contending team needs more than a good closer. The downfall of many playoff teams over the years has been because of shoddy bullpen play, so if you can find a guy who can not only get the ball with the lead in the ninth and shut it down, but also be able to potentially pitch two innings in high leverage, you need to keep him.
The Yankees had that for two decades with Mariano Rivera, and for a time, they had it again with prime Aroldis Chapman, but they’ve struggled to have a consistently dominant closer since Chapman began to unravel after Jose Altuve’s pennant-winning home run broke his psyche in 2019. From Chapman to Clay Holmes to Luke Weaver to Devin Williams, it’s been a roller coaster for the Yankees in their quest for a closer who shines bright in the city that never sleeps.
Enter David Bednar, who, since his acquisition at the 2025 deadline, has been that consistent presence for the Yankees. On a team with not much consistency outside the starting rotation, he was a rock all season long, closing out close game after close game for the Yankees. When they went out the way they did, he was the least of their concerns. It should set him up for a big payday this offseason.
Grade: A
2026 Statistics: 69.1 IP, 2.47 ERA (171 ERA+), 2.87 FIP, 20 K-BB%, 35 saves (39 opportunities), 1.9 fWAR
2027 Contract Status: Free agent
Things didn’t start that well for Bednar, who was coming off some high-stress innings at the World Baseball Classic for Team USA when the team started. It was a weird year in which a lot of WBC players struggled, especially early, so that might explain why it seemed to take him a while to get going.
He allowed four runs in his first six outings, taking a loss against the Athletics before a buntapalooza in the Trop against the Rays saw him blow a save in the 10th inning on April 8th. Aside from that, into mid-May, he was at least converting every save opportunity in front of him, which is all you can ask from your closer.
Those struggles did bleed into May, however. He allowed a walk-off home run to Brice Turang on May 10th, narrowly survived a late scare against the Mets on May 15th, and conceded a disastrous three-run home run to Tyrone Taylor two days later in what would be a definitive low point of his season.
After blowing that save, he would convert his next 17 saves in a row. He struggled the following day against Toronto, but held on for dear life. After that, he would toss 24 consecutive scoreless innings into late July, nailing down games of all types. He had a five-out save against Cleveland, a six-out win against Washington right before the All-Star break, and a clutch five-out save against the Dodgers at Yankee Stadium in one of the best moments of the season.
His scoreless streak ended with a Chase Meidroth home run in Chicago, but he would continue his dominance after the deadline by not blowing a save until August 16th, when a Ben Rice error led to the tying run scoring, which obviously deserves an asterisk. In fact, in three of his four blown saves, he allowed at least one unearned run. His other one in Minnesota in September was in that 13-inning marathon, where he blew a pair of one-run leads.
What was also extraordinary about Bednar’s season was just how little traffic he conceded. In that 24-inning scoreless streak, he permitted just eight hits, five walks, and one hit-by-pitch. In the 11 outings after the Meidroth home run, he allowed just four hits and four walks in 12.2 innings. He finished the season with a 1.04 WHIP, but that is inflated by his start to the season. In his last 43 appearances, it was just 0.786.
In the playoffs, he didn’t allow a run in three shutout innings. It’s unfortunate that Bednar wasn’t handed any leverage situations in the playoffs due to the Boston blowouts and the Yankees never leading against Tampa, but I think many of us would be confident if he came in a big spot. The only run he’s allowed in 10 postseason games as a Yankee came while trailing against Boston in Game 1 of last year’s Wild Card Series.
It sets up an interesting offseason decision for Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman to make. They found a top-shelf closer who came from a small-market team in Pittsburgh and didn’t wilt as Williams did. The team, while confident in its pitching development, has very little bullpen depth under contract. Yet, the Yankees have not handed a reliever more than $10 million since Zack Britton in 2019, and have generally avoided paying relievers at all costs since the Super Bullpen flamed out in 2020.
Jon Heyman reported last week that the team plans to extend a $23 million qualifying offer to the recently turned 32-year-old, which would be a great move in my eyes. If he accepted, it would make him the highest-paid reliever in baseball next year, but he has the track record to be compensated like that. It’s not even a Trent Grisham situation, where although the process was sound, many fans disliked the decision due to worries that his 2025 was a fluke.
That qualifying offer should unequivocally be used to start multi-year contract extension talks. Without Bednar, the Yankees would have to turn to Brent Headrick or a mid-level signing or trade (which would deplete an already shallow farm system) to close next year, while also putting more pressure on Blake to churn out more development gems and internal options like Carlos Lagrange to grow up fast and be leverage options right out of the gate.
Paying relievers without an infinite budget usually isn’t wise, but if we assume that a salary cap won’t come from the upcoming lockout, the Yankees should be bringing back Bednar to try and replicate his brilliant 2026 season.
