Is the David Bednar era over in Pittsburgh?

Renegade just won’t sound the same anymore.

There are few jobs in sports as hard as being a closing pitcher. To succeed in that position, you have to be fearless and have nerves of steel. When the game is on the line, and your team needs a save or a win, they should be able to look to their closer with confidence. For a short but memorable time, David Bednar was exactly that guy. Unfortunately, after three disastrous outings to start the season, he has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis effectively putting his run in Pittsburgh on hold.

The Pittsburgh native has become a fan favorite over the past couple of years, carrying the kind of swagger that you want to see in your closer. Coming out in the ninth inning to “Renegade” by Styx has become quite the tradition at Pirates’ home games, as Bednar captured the heart of the city’s baseball fans. It’s one thing to be a hometown favorite, but Bednar has also been one of the very best closers in all of baseball.

2022-2023 saw Bednar be named to the All-Star team twice, recording a National League best 39 saves in the latter year. ‘23 was arguably his best season, finishing with a 2.00 ERA and 80 strikeouts, holding opposing batters to a .215 average.

Despite that success, 2024 is where the wheels started to fall off. Bednar took a huge step back, finishing with 8 losses, a 5.77 ERA, and just 23 saves in 30 opportunities. There were times last year where he was in and out of the game plan, even suffering from boos from the Pittsburgh crowd, culminating in Rowdy Tellez coming to his defense postgame. He was removed from the closing position in August of last year.

Now in 2025, Bednar has appeared in three games, and none of his performances have been pretty. He punched out just three of the nine batters he’s faced, and of course was handed the loss in two of those games. Even in the game that he was awarded the save, it was a hard watch, as he allowed a two-run homer when the team had a three-run lead in the ninth. Clearly he is far removed from the dominant player that he was just two years ago.

Manager Derek Shelton spoke briefly on making the move to send Bednar to Indy.

“It’s a challenging conversation just because of who David is as a person and what he’s done over the course of his time with the Pirates,” manager Derek Shelton said.

Pitch mix, delivery, and mechanics are all things that the Indians’ coaching staff will be working on, as they take on the challenge of rebuilding Bednar back to All-Star form. Undoubtedly there has to be some mental aspects impacting his performances as well. Getting booed is hard enough to handle, but getting booed by the fans in the city that you grew up in has to be heartbreaking. Since his rough start in 2024, Bednar has lacked some of that swagger and lightheartedness that he exhibited in years past.

I think I speak for all Pirates’ fans when I say that I want to see Bednar getting called back up to Pittsburgh. He’s a yinzer through and through, he represents a large part of the fan base, and he has shown to be an incredible player. Hopefully this time away is beneficial as he resets and refocuses. Shelton made it clear that he is a part of the team’s future.

“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.”