Yanks add Bednar, Doval; say Williams still closer

The New York Yankees, thirsty for bullpen reinforcements, acquired relievers David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird in three separate trades Thursday, executing a midseason overhaul they hope will remedy a glaring weakness.

Doval was the final of the three pitchers sent to New York — and the last of the seven players the Yankees landed in the seven days leading up to Thursday’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline.

The Yankees sent four minor leaguers to the San Francisco Giants for Doval: catcher Jesus Rodriguez, right-hander Trystan Vrieling, corner infielder Parks Harber and left-hander Carlos De La Rosa.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, meanwhile, received three minor leaguers — catching prospects Rafael Flores and Edgleen Pérez, and center fielder Brian Sanchez — for Bednar as they seek to replenish their farm system with potential impact bats to supplement the club’s strong organizational pitching depth.

The Yankees sent minor league second baseman Roc Riggio and minor league left-hander Ben Shields to the Colorado Rockies for Bird.

While Bednar and Doval have spent the majority of their careers as closers, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the plan is to keep the incumbent Devin Williams in that role.

“We’re better,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “And that’s just keeping it simple: We are better today than we were yesterday, so mission accomplished there.”

Whatever their roles, the three relievers, all right-handed, should substantially improve a bullpen that has recorded the fifth-highest ERA (4.89) and seventh-lowest win probability added in the majors since June 1. Off the field, the pitchers share one important commonality: They are under team control beyond this season, giving the Yankees late-inning reliever insurance this offseason with Williams and Luke Weaver slated for free agency.

“I’d say it’s a benefit,” Cashman said when asked whether he prioritized adding relievers under team control beyond 2025. “But we definitely had conversations with rental relievers, not just controlled relievers. We were discussing with all players that were available on the marketplace and even making sure we’re asking on players that might not be available in the marketplace to make sure there was an opportunity there.”

The 30-year-old Bednar is making $5.9 million this season and is slated to become a free agent after 2026. He was an All-Star in 2022 and 2023 before the Pittsburgh native experienced a dreadful 2024 season, posting a 5.77 ERA in 62 games. He spent nearly three weeks in Triple-A in April before returning to the Pirates and rediscovering his previous form as one of the best bullpen weapons in the majors to increase his trade value for the last-place club.

He joins the Yankees with a 2.37 ERA and 17 saves in 42 appearances this season with career bests in strikeout and walk rates behind an arsenal featuring a 97 mph fastball, curveball and splitter. He has been especially dominant recently, posting a 0.39 ERA with 29 strikeouts and just five walks over his past 24 outings through Wednesday. Brent Headrick (34.4% in 13 games) is the only active Yankees reliever with a strikeout rate higher than Bednar’s 33.1%, though the injured Fernando Cruz’s 41.2% leads the club.

Like Bednar, Doval, who boasts a 98 mph cutter, supplies the Yankees with much-needed swing-and-miss potential. The 28-year-old Dominican native emerged as one of the top relievers in baseball in 2022 and was an All-Star in 2023 before stumbling to a 4.88 ERA last season. He has improved this year, though not to his previous watermark, with a 3.09 ERA and 15 saves in 47 appearances despite a career-low 26.2% strikeout rate.

Bird, 29, does not boast a track record on Bednar’s or Doval’s level, but he has posted a career-best 26.3% strikeout rate with a 4.73 ERA and 3.45 FIP in 53 ⅓ innings across 45 appearances for the last-place Rockies this season.

In addition to the three relief additions, the Yankees expect internal reinforcements for their bullpen over the next few weeks. The Yankees are targeting a late August return date for Cruz, who has been on the injured list since June 30 with an oblique strain, and Boone said Thursday that Mark Leiter Jr. is on track to return from a stress fracture in his left leg next week.

“We get to take our shot here these next couple of months,” Boone said, “at getting back to the World Series and hopefully winning it all.”

In the end, the Yankees did not relinquish any of their top nine prospects in the organizational rankings by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel for any of the seven major leaguers — the three relievers and four position players — they acquired over the past week.

“Some guys were more touchable than others,” Cashman said.

Catcher Edgleen Pérez, No. 10 on the list, was the only one New York moved as part of the package for Bednar. The 18-year-old Venezuelan is slashing .209/.368/.236 with zero home runs in 83 games in Low-A this season. The 21-year-old Sanchez is batting .281 with an .811 OPS and 24 steals in 63 games in Low-A this season.

Flores, 24, might be the most big-league-ready player the Yankees surrendered among their flurry of moves. The catcher signed with the Yankees for $75,000 as an undrafted free agent out of a junior college in 2022, was named the Yankees’ minor league player of the year last season and impressed team brass during spring training this year. He batted .287 with 15 home runs and an .841 OPS in 87 Double-A games before a recent promotion to Triple-A this season.

Riggio, 23, is hitting .264 with 18 home runs and a .937 OPS across three levels, most recently in Double-A, this season. Shields, 26, has pitched to a 3.53 ERA in nine starts across four levels this season.

The 23-year-old Rodriguez, the third catcher the Yankees traded on Thursday, is batting .300 with five home runs and a .794 OPS in 85 games between Double-A and Triple-A this season.

Vrieling, 24, has a 4.70 ERA in 12 games, including 12 starts, across three levels. De La Rosa is a 5-foot-11, 17-year-old lefty whose pro career consists of seven starts in the Dominican Summer League this year. The 23-year-old Harber is hitting .319 with six home runs and a .914 OPS in 54 games between Low-A and High-A, splitting time between first and third base.