PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Coming off his first performance since being sent to AAA, the Pirates said again on Monday closer David Bednar will be a key part of this year’s team.
“We need David Bednar to be good for our bullpen to be good,” said Pirates manager Derek Shelton.
And this bullpen currently is not good. A 1.55 WHIP with 19 walks so far this season and a few blown opportunities without it being two weeks into the season. There is no closer to turn to and questions about who to turn to in leverage situations.
That’s why Shelton said it was such a tough conversation with Bednar.
“We got to get him right,” Shelton said after giving him a pair of leverage situations early. “We got to make sure he is using all of his pitches and it’s good and it’s solid. I think what we were seeing wasn’t consistent enough. For us to have a good bullpen, he needs to be a part of it so we need to get him right.”
Bednar threw a clean inning with a strikeout in his lone AAA appearance on Sunday. They were pleased with the fastball and the splitter. Shelton called the outing ‘very positive’.
There will be a number of eyes on him from the Pirates director of pitching Jeremy Bleich to Bucs pitching coach Oscar Marin and others. They will collaborate to make sure the message is consistent in what they are telling the 30-year-old, but it’s mostly about location of pitches, maybe a bit mechanical. The velocity is there, but he’s just not putting it where he wants. For him to be where the Pirates need him he needs to be able to work all of his pitches.
“It’s not just exclusively the fastball,” Shelton said. “We know the fastball plays in certain areas, but it’s kind of the chicken and the egg. Does it play in those areas because the curveball works off a different tunnel or the split plays a different way. I think it’s why it’s important that all three are working in unison.”
His importance is why it was such a tough decision, but Shelton said he tried to emphasize that he understands Bednar will be mad. He wants to make sure that the Mars HS graduate takes his time so when he comes back, he’s ready to work at an elite level again.
“No player ever sent down is happy about it,” Shelton said. “There should be some time of like, 'Alright, I'm going to be a little angry.' But once you get to the affiliate, now we need to go. I was very pleased with (Sunday) night from all reports we got, that that's the way he took it."