Blue Jays interested in trading for Pirates pitcher David Bednar who has an ERA above 5.00
The Blue Jays could possibly look into a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for relief pitcher David Bednar according to according to Sportsnet MLB reporter Nick Ashbourne.
Bednard is coming off a rough season in Pittsburgh as he finished with a 5.77 ERA in 57.2 innings pitched but has proved that he could be a solid reliever in the MLB with an ERA below 3.00 between 2021-2023.
2024 stats: 9.05 K/9, 4.37 BB/9, 1.40 HR/9 in 57.2 IP with a 5.77 ERA and 4.28 xERA -Ashbourne
Bednar is coming off a rough season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the gap between his ERA and xERA suggests he got rather unlucky - and his repertoire was the same as the one that delivered him a 39-save, 2.0 fWAR season in 2023. His fastball even ticked up from 96.6 m.p.h. to 97.2 m.p.h. -Ashbourne
Fan Graphs projects Bednar to make a similar amount to pitcher Paul Sewald next season which should be in the range of $6.5 to $8 million per season which could be a great deal if Bednar is able to return to his old self.
If the Blue Jays end up trying to improve their bullpen on a tight budget, they might need to think outside the box and Bednar could be a possible suitor in that type of scenario even if fans want to see the Blue Jays land some bigger names.