David Bednar, Jake Bird ready to get thrown into the fire on contending Yankees

New York Post

2 days ago

MIAMI — Two tickets to paradise. Pack your bags, we'll leave tonight.
That could have been the soundtrack for pitchers David Bednar and Jake Bird, two relievers on last-place teams who ran into each other unexpectedly in the Denver airport early Friday morning and boarded a flight to Miami to join the Yankees, who acquired them at the trade deadline Thursday.
Their trip covered about 1,700 air miles, but more than that, it delivered them from the depths of a season to the world's most famous baseball team, a pennant race and a chance to win a championship in a few months.
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David Bednar pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the ninth inning at Oracle Park on July 28, 2025 in San Francisco, California.
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Bednar, 30, was a perfect 17-for-17 in save opportunities for the Pirates.
The 29-year-old Bird had a 4-1 record for the Rockies, who were 28-80 overall. Now they were standing in the clubhouse of a Yankees team that entered Friday 3 ¹/₂ games out of first place in the AL East.
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Joining them were former Giants closer Camilo Doval and ex-Rays utility man Jose Caballero, who also were acquired by GM Brian Cashman in a deadline frenzy.
'It's huge,' said Bednar, who sat a few rows behind Bird on the flight that landed in south Florida at 6:45 a.m. 'Playing competitive baseball and playing to win a World Series is huge.'
Speaking of his deal, Bird said, 'I thought it was a possibility, but when you're with an organization for seven, eight years like I was, it was definitely a little bit of a surprise, but I'm excited.'
Jake Bird pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the seventh inning at Oracle Park on May 17, 2024 in San Francisco, California.
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Doval comes from farther away but has a bit of a shorter climb up the food chain, leaving the near-.500 Giants. There, he went 4-2 with 15 saves.
'Trades are part of the sport and they happen, they happen quite a bit,' Doval said. 'When you get traded, you want to stay confident in what you do and you've got to keep moving forward.
'I was able to have a lot of dreams come true with the Giants organization,' the 28-year-old added. 'They gave me my first opportunity to start my career, and now I get a new opportunity with the Yankees.'
Where the three newcomers get to pitch is at the discretion of Aaron Boone, who says they will fall in behind — or in terms of game flow, ahead of — closer Devin Williams.
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'Obviously, we are adding three significant relievers, guys who are outstanding back-end relievers,' Boone said. 'I still plan on Devin closing most games. I don't look at it as a seven or an eight, I'm going to put guys in where I think … sometimes the biggest moment in the game is an out in the sixth and the middle of the order's up.
'That'll probably vary night to night,' the manager continued. 'Hopefully, they'll all kind of protect one another so they can all stay sharp, they can all stay fresh, and they can all be at their best every time they get the ball.'
The three new arms didn't have to be told that. They know their places quite well.
'My motto is always whenever the phone rings to be ready to go and get outs,' Bednar said.
'I'm going to be ready for whatever innings,' Doval added. 'Once the team gives me the ball, I'm going to be ready to pitch that inning. Anything we can do to help the team.'
Boone said he planned to conduct a short team meeting after batting practice to tell the players, new and old alike, that, 'This is us.'
'It's an exciting time in the sport. You never know what's going to happen — if you're going to be able to pull off some moves or not,' Boone said. 'I think [general manager Brian Cashman] and everyone in the front office did a great job putting us in a better place today. I feel like we have a team capable of going to chase it down now. We take our shot, and it's on us to do it.'