Jul 31, 2025, 02:52 PM ET

The New York Yankees are finalizing a trade to acquire closer David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Thursday.

The deal is pending a medical review, sources said.

Among those going to the Pirates, sources told ESPN, is catcher Rafael Flores, who tore up Double-A, is now at Triple-A, is a top-shelf framer and regarded as a big-league-ready catcher. Pittsburgh also gets 19-year-old Edgleen Perez, who makes excellent swing decisions and was rated as the Yankees’ 10th-best prospect by ESPN.

PitcherERAAdrian Morejon0.33David Bednar0.40Edwin Díaz0.42Chris Sale0.65Through Wednesday’s games

Entering Thursday, Yankees relievers had a 6.29 ERA in July, which is the second-worst by any team in MLB this month, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies (7.01).

The 30-year-old Bednar brings high-end performance without the price tag of his back-end-of-the-bullpen peers, as he is making $5.9 million this season and is arbitration-eligible before hitting free agency after the 2026 season.

His swing-and-miss stuff has been elite since his return from Triple-A in mid-April, which more than salvaged his trade value: Over his past 24 outings through Wednesday, Bednar struck out 29 and walked only five while giving up just one earned run.

For the season, the right-handed Bednar has 17 saves with a 2.37 ERA and 51 strikeouts, compared to just 10 walks. He has so far posted career bests in strikeout and walk rates.

He has rebounded from an atrocious 2024, when he posted a 5.77 ERA while going 3-8 with 23 saves (and seven blown saves), to recapture his form from 2021-23, when he was among the five best relievers in baseball. His arsenal features a high-90s fastball, a hard-breaking curveball and a mean splitter.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.