Yankees overhaul bullpen at busy trade deadline with deals for Bednar, Doval and Bird
Beginning last week, the Yankees made a string of trades to gear up for the pennant chase.
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Fortifying their bullpen for the stretch run, the New York Yankees acquired All-Star relievers David Bednar and Camilo Doval in separate deals as they made a flurry of moves Thursday just ahead of baseball’s trade deadline.
The Yankees also added reliever Jake Bird from Colorado and speedy utilityman José Caballero from Tampa Bay — right in the middle of their game against the Rays. New York sent reserve infielder Oswald Peraza to the Los Angeles Angels.
“We tried to improve every aspect of the club and this is what we have to show for those efforts," general manager Brian Cashman said. “Certainly knocked on many doors regarding starting pitching and obviously weren’t able to match up in that category.”
New York shipped three minor league prospects to last-place Pittsburgh in exchange for Bednar: catcher and first baseman Rafael Flores, catcher Edgleen Perez and outfielder Brian Sanchez.
A two-time All-Star closer, the 30-year-old Bednar is under club control through the 2026 season.
“Excited,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I’ve been pounding the table for a while with the group for him. ... It’s dominant stuff."
New York also landed Doval from San Francisco for four minor leaguers: catcher Jesús Rodríguez, right-hander Trystan Vrieling, infielder Parks Harber and left-hander Carlos de la Rosa.
Doval, an All-Star closer with the Giants in 2023, is 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 15 saves this year. The right-hander is under club control through the 2027 season.
“There is certainly benefits to control, no doubt about that, but more than anything it’s about the quality of the player we had interest in and the ability to match up,” Cashman said.
Tampa Bay removed Caballero from Thursday's rain-interrupted game at Yankee Stadium and sent him to New York for Triple-A outfielder Everson Pereira and a player to be named or cash.
Pereira played 27 major league games for the Yankees in 2023.
The 28-year-old Caballero has 34 stolen bases this season, which was tied for most in the majors. He's batting .226 with two homers and 27 RBIs in 86 games and has started at shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield positions.
Before those deals were announced, the Yankees finalized a trade to obtain Bird from the Rockies for two minor leaguers: infielder Roc Riggio and left-hander Ben Shields.
Bird, a right-hander, is 4-1 with a 4.73 ERA in 45 appearances this year.
“I know we got three high-quality arms to add to our 'pen and I feel we have some real depth down there,” Boone said.
Peraza was traded to the Angels for 18-year-old minor league outfielder Wilberson De Peña and international bonus pool money.
To clear additional roster space, the Yankees optioned right-handers Yerry de los Santos and Ian Hamilton to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
New York sought late-inning options for the bullpen, which entered Thursday with a 4.24 ERA — including a 6.27 mark in July.
Devin Williams has regained his job as the closer after losing it early this season to Luke Weaver, who has struggled in a setup role since returning from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for three weeks in June.
“Shortening the game’s been a little bit of a challenge for us over the last month and a half with some of the injuries we’ve had," Boone said. "I know we've got some high-powered guys now to go with what’s already a pretty good flock of guys.”
The burly Bednar had problems of his own earlier this season. He spent three weeks at Triple-A Indianapolis in April following a rocky start.
The time in the minors worked wonders. Bednar has been dominant since his return and had a streak of 23 straight appearances without allowing an earned run end in San Francisco on Monday, though he held on to pick up his 17th save.
The Pittsburgh-area native — who came to his hometown club as part of the massive three-team deal that sent pitcher Joe Musgrove to San Diego — has evolved from a 35th-round draft pick by the Padres in 2016 into a two-time All-Star thanks in part to a fastball that can touch the upper-90s mph and a fiery competitiveness that helped him thrive at the back end of the bullpen for a team in need of stars.
The 6-foot-1, 250-pound Bednar, who takes the mound to the Styx classic “Renegade” — a nod to the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, who have long played the song during pivotal late-game defensive possessions — led the National League with 39 saves in 2023, locking down more than half of Pittsburgh’s 76 victories that season.
He took a significant step back in 2024, when he posted a career-high 5.77 ERA and lost his job to veteran flamethrower Aroldis Chapman.
The problems carried over into this spring, though now that looks like a blip. Bednar’s hard work — and Pittsburgh’s spot at the bottom of the NL Central — made him a valuable commodity at the deadline and now he will find himself in the middle of a playoff race for the first time in his seven-year career.
New York is 3 1/2 games behind first-place Toronto in the AL East.
Beginning last week, the Yankees made a string of trades to gear up for the pennant chase. They obtained third baseman Ryan McMahon from Colorado on Friday, reserve infielder Amed Rosario from Washington on Saturday and reserve outfielder Austin Slater from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.
“We have to be in a position to do the best we possibly can,” Cashman said. "These opportunities and risks were worth taking despite what we gave up.”
The 24-year-old Flores was hitting .279 with 16 home runs and 60 RBIs in 97 games combined at Double-A and Triple-A.
Pittsburgh also made two other moves at the deadline, sending left-hander Bailey Falter to Kansas City and flipping reliever Taylor Rogers — who came over Wednesday from Cincinnati in a deal for Ke’Bryan Hayes — to the Chicago Cubs for outfield prospect Ivan Brethowr.
