The Cubs know they need help all over the pitching staff this winter, but the bullpen is the spot that keeps jumping to the front of the line. Last season, it was held together piece by piece, and if Chicago gets what it wants this offseason, it should come away with another legitimate high-leverage arm.
David Bednar is one name that fits that need. There’s just one catch: the Yankees may be about to make him more expensive.
According to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, New York is expected to extend Bednar a qualifying offer as the club sorts through those decisions. If that happens, any team that signs him would be taking on draft-pick compensation, along with a possible hit to international bonus pool money. For the Cubs, that adds another layer to an already tricky pursuit.
Bednar has been on Chicago’s radar in a loose way for years. He spent a long stretch as the shutdown closer at the back end of the Pirates’ bullpen, and when he ran into trouble in 2024, there was at least some thought that the Cubs could try to buy low in a trade with a division rival. That never happened.
Instead, Bednar bounced back in Pittsburgh in 2025, putting up a 2.37 ERA before the Pirates moved him to the Yankees at the deadline. He kept rolling after the trade, posting a 2.47 ERA with 35 saves this season. His fastball lived in the middle 90s, and he struck out more than 27% of the hitters he faced.
That kind of profile is exactly what Chicago was missing for much of last season. A pitcher like Bednar would give the Cubs a clear closer and shift Daniel Palencia, Ryan Zeferjahn, and Jacob Webb down the pecking order. Given how often Craig Counsell had to scramble late in games in 2026, that could be the cleanest way to reshape the back end of the bullpen.
The qualifying offer complication doesn’t necessarily take Chicago out of the mix, though. The Cubs are expected to make one to Seiya Suzuki, and if he declines, they would be in position to land a draft pick after the fourth round of the 2027 MLB Draft. That could soften the blow if the front office decides Bednar is worth the cost anyway.
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Kris Bryant Just Got Another Brutal Sign About His Baseball Future
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Now the Rockies are operating as if Bryant will not be part of their roster plans moving forward, a stark sign of how far things have shifted. President Paul DePodesta said the club is making moves with Bryant unavailable, and there has been no update on any contract restructuring, leaving his baseball future hanging in the same uncertain space that has defined so much of the last few years. [Read more 🡒]