Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar (back) threw a perfect inning with no strikeouts or walks in his latest minor league rehab outing for Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday night. Bednar didn't allow a hit or a run in his inning of work. It was his second rehab appearance after starting his rehab assignment on Tuesday. Barring a setback with Indy, the 27-year-old right-hander could rejoin the Pirates bullpen later this weekend or early next week. Before his injury, Bednar had been having a fine season with a 2.70 ERA (2.49 FIP), a 1.07 WHIP, 17 saves and 63 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings as Pittsburgh's closer. He won't have much time to rack up numbers for fantasy managers the rest of the way, though, and it remains to be seen if he'll take the closer's role back from Wil Crowe.

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar (back) is starting a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday for Triple-A Indianapolis. Bednar threw a live batting practice session over the weekend on Saturday and will now embark on a rehab assignment before rejoining the Bucs bullpen for the conclusion of the 2022 season this month. The 27-year-old right-hander hasn't pitched in the big leagues since July 29. Bednar did have a nice 2.70 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 17 saves and 63 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings pitched for the Pirates before landing on the injured list, but with not much time left in the season, he's unlikely to see many save chances the rest of the way. Wil Crowe has been filling in as Pittsburgh's closer of late.

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar (back) has a shot to return this season, according to general manager Ben Cherington. On his radio show, the GM noted that Bednar would need a minor league rehab assignment before his return, but he did throw a live batting practice session on Saturday. The 27-year-old reliever has been out since early August with lower back inflammation. The Pirates season is long over, but it would be nice to see the 2022 All-Star return to the field before the year is over.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar (back) threw live batting practice on Saturday. He is expected to begin a rehab assignment before returning from the injured list. The 27-year-old has been sidelined since July 29 with a back issue. He has converted 17-of-21 save opportunities with a 2.70 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 63:14 K: BB across 46 2/3 innings in 2022. Bednar will be Pittsburgh's primary closer once activated, and fantasy managers should continue to stash the right-hander in all league formats.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar (back) should be ready to begin a throwing program later this week or early next week. He was placed on the 15-day injured list two weeks ago due to a lower back issue. The 27-year-old will begin a throwing program soon and start a rehab assignment as early as next week. He is 17-for-21 in saves chances with a 2.70 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 63:13 K: BB across 46 2/3 innings in 2022. Wil Crowe will handle closing duties for the Pirates until Bednar is activated from the injured list. Crowe hasn't recorded a save since August 2 and is only an option for fantasy managers searching for saves in deep-league formats.

The Pittsburgh Pirates placed closer David Bednar (back) on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday and recalled right-hander Yohan Ramirez from Triple-A Indianapolis in a corresponding move. The team also recalled infielder Tucupita Marcano from Indianapolis and designated infielder Yoshi Tsutsugo for assignment. Bednar was unavailable for a save chance on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, and as a result, Wil Crowe came on for his third save of the year. Yerry De Los Santos could see a save chance or two while Bednar is sidelined as well, but Crowe should be the target for those chasing saves. Bednar deserves to be stashed in all fantasy formats while he's on the shelf, as he's recorded 17 saves to go along with a 2.70 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 63:14 K:BB in 46 2/3 innings for the Bucs in 2022.

Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Tuesday that closer David Bednar (back) was bothered by his lower back, which was why he was not available in a 5-3 win over the Brewers. Wil Crowe instead came in to convert his third save of the season. Shelton said that the team will use the next couple of days to determine if Bednar will need a stint on the injured list. It would be a shame for the Pirates and fantasy managers if Bednar were to miss any time, as he has converted 17 of 21 save opportunities this season with a 2.70 ERA. Fantasy managers in need of saves could look to Crowe if Bednar misses time, as he has seen the second most save opportunities for the Pirates.

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar locked up his 16th save of the season Tuesday, closing out a 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins. Bednar has been racking them up this month, with five in July. He allowed just one hit and struck out one batter in an inning of work in this contest, and has pitched to a 2.57 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 56 strikeouts in 42 innings on the year. Despite being on a weak team, he's managed to be a major fantasy asset in the RP slot.

Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar picked up his 13th save of the season in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Yankees. Bednar entered the game to pitch the ninth inning and protect a three-run lead. He got the first out on a line-out, allowed a single, got the second out on a force-out, and struck out Aaron Judge to end the game. The 27-year-old has been a solid fantasy contributor this season despite closing for the Pirates and now has a 2.37 ERA with a 12.08 K/9 rate and a 2.84 BB/9 rate over 38 innings pitched. He is a must-start fantasy closer as long as he continues to pitch as he has.

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar looked like he was going to get a day off on Saturday. However, the Milwaukee Brewers put together a rally to cut the lead to three runs. After that, the Pirates went to Bednar for the save. He walked the leadoff batter, but the Brewers weren't able to do anything with it. Bednar recorded his 12th save of the season as he continues to be one of the better relievers in baseball. He holds a terrific 2.43 ERA,1.00 WHIP and 50/11 K/BB ratio over 37 innings on the season.

Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton said that closer David Bednar (back) has been dealing with a lower-back issue and won't be available to pitch on Tuesday against the Washington Nationals. The Pirates are trying to avoid an injured list stint for Bednar, so it remains to be seen if he'll miss any more time. The 27-year-old has been great for the Bucs this year (1.78 ERA, 11 saves and 49 K's in 35 1/3 innings), but two of his three blown saves on the season have come in his last three appearances, and the back issue may be to blame. Fantasy managers in need of saves will want to look to either Wil Crowe or Chris Stratton. It's unclear who the favorite for saves in Pittsburgh would be if Bednar goes on the injured list, and it's possible Crowe and Stratton could share closing duties.

Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher David Bednar blew the save and took the loss on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays. Bednar was looking good as usual to begin the ninth, inducing a groundout for the first out followed by strike out to put the Pirates one out away from victory. Unfortunately, it all unraveled from there. Bednar issued two walks and two singles to the Rays, blowing his third save of the season. Even with the bad outing, the 27-year-old has been tremendous all season, posting a 1.78 ERA and 0.88 WHIP while converting 11 of his 14 save opportunities. The Pirates could look to trade Bednar at the trade deadline, and they could certainly get a haul for him, especially considering he is arbitration-eligible for the next 4 seasons. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, this could actually tank his value as he may not be the closer depending on which team he is traded to.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar struck out one over a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 4-2 win over the San Diego Padres. He entered the game in the ninth inning to protect a two-run lead. The 27-year-old retired the side to earn his ninth save of the season. He is having a terrific season as Pittsburgh's primary closer. Bednar is 9-for-9 in save opportunities with a 0.75 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts over 24 innings in 2022. Fantasy managers should continue to roll with Bednar in all league formats.

Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar was called upon to pitch the 10th inning in the team's game against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday. While he retired three of the four batters he faced, Connor Joe managed to single off of him, scoring the free runner from second base and giving the Rockies a 2-1 lead that wouldn't be relinquished. Bednar was charged with his first loss of the year in the game. The run that scored was unearned, so he's still given up just two earned runs over 23 innings on the year, good for a minuscule 0.78 ERA.

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar looked nearly unhittable versus the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. The right-handed reliever tossed two scoreless innings to earn his eighth save of the season. He almost had himself two perfect innings, but Christopher Morel singled in the ninth inning. Regardless, Bednar closed the door, which makes him eight-for-eight in save situations this season. He's posting an impressive 0.90 ERA, 0.60 WHIP and 26/3 K/BB ratio as well.

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar closed out the team's 1-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday to earn his seventh save of the year. He retired each of the three batters he faced in the ninth inning, requiring just 13 total pitches. Bednar is a perfect 7-for-7 on save chances this season and he has a stellar 1.00 ERA and 0.61 WHIP. The 27-year-old has a stranglehold on ninth inning duties for the Pirates and has surprisingly been one of the best relief pitchers in fantasy thus far in the 2022 season.

Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar pitched a pair of perfect innings to close out the team's 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. He only needed 21 pitches to get through the final two innings of the game and he recorded three strikeouts along the way. The 27-year-old is now 5-for-5 in save opportunities this year with a 1.15 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP. The Pirates are surprisingly just four games under .500 right now. If the team can continue to sustain a winning percentage remotely close to .500, we could wind up seeing Bednar flirt with 25-plus saves on the year with how well he's pitching.

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar locked down his second save of the year on Sunday after he put a cap on the team's 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs. He had a bit of a rocky ninth inning as he allowed two hits and a walk, but no runners crossed home plate and he earned all three outs via the strikeout. Bednar is now 2-for-2 on save opportunities on the year. Chris Stratton had earned each of the team's last two save opportunities and he converted both of them. However, he was used in the eighth inning in Sunday's game. All signs are pointing to a committee situation with the team for now, but Stratton still seems like the best player to gamble on if you have to take a chance on one Pirates reliever.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar allowed one walk while striking out one over an inning to earn his first save of the season in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals. He entered Sunday's game to protect a two-run lead and retired three of four batters he faced, sealing the Pirates' win. The 27-year-old is splitting closing duties with Chris Stratton but picked up the save opportunity on Sunday. Bednar has been efficient this season, posting a 0.86 WHIP and four strikeouts over four scoreless innings. The Pirates right-hander should be rostered in all league formats as he has the potential to rack up 20 saves with good ratios in 2022.

The Pittsburgh Pirates plan to continue splitting the closing duties between relief pitchers David Bednar and Chris Stratton, which is what they did last year when they traded away then-closer Richard Rodriguez to the Atlanta Braves. Bednar was 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and three saves in 60 2/3 innings last year, averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings with a curveball that induced a 46.8% whiff rate. Stratton has evolved from a starter, to middle reliever and now a high-leverage role. He led the team in wins (seven) and saves (eight) by using elite spin rates on his fastball and curve. Bednar is the better reliever of the two, but the fact that he'll be splitting save chances on a bad team makes him a low-end fantasy option for those chasing saves.