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Brian Cashman ‘not afraid’ to buck Yankees trend for David Bednar
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman says he is willing to spend heavily on a reliever, and David Bednar could be the test of that approach this off-season. Bednar is expected to reject the Yankees’ qualifying offer and enter free agency, where he is among the leading relief options; retaining him could address a major gap in New York’s bullpen.
The qualifying offer is worth $23.15 million for one year, while Devin Williams received a three-year, $51 million deal from the Mets last winter, a potential guide to Bednar’s market. The Yankees have not made a comparable major investment in a reliever since Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman, whose deals did not end well. With only left-handed reliever Brent Headrick guaranteed to return in 2027, Cashman says the bullpen is probably the team’s biggest need; rival option Adrian Morejon could cost more and bring draft-pick and international bonus penalties.
In short
- Cashman is open to a major investment in David Bednar.
- Bednar may reject a $23.15 million qualifying offer.
- The Yankees face major gaps in their 2027 bullpen.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A major investment in Bednar could address the Yankees’ most urgent roster gap with an established, high-level reliever. If the price reflects his market and the club lacks comparable alternatives, paying for reliability may be a sensible use of resources, especially given the potential costs and penalties tied to other options.
The case against
Relievers can be difficult to predict, and a long or expensive contract risks committing substantial resources to a role where performance may fluctuate. The Yankees’ past deals for Britton and Chapman ended poorly, so they could argue that depth, shorter commitments or spreading the money across other needs offers better protection.
Explained simply
The New York Yankees are a Major League Baseball team, and Brian Cashman is the executive who oversees their player roster. A bullpen is the group of relief pitchers who take over after the starting pitcher, often late in a game; David Bednar is a prominent reliever who could become available to teams as a free agent.
A qualifying offer is a one-year contract offer that gives a player a choice between accepting it and testing the market for a longer deal. Teams weigh the cost of signing a free agent against the risk of leaving a roster need unfilled, as well as possible penalties such as losing draft picks. For the Yankees, the decision matters because few relief pitchers are guaranteed to return in 2027, and the club has previously made large bullpen deals that did not work out.