Perrotto: Difficult Decision by Derek Shelton The Right One

CLEVELAND — Many things can happen to a baseball team between the middle of February and the end of August.

However, it was difficult to see this move coming when spring training opened on Feb. 14: David Bednar’s removal from the closer’s role by the Pittsburgh Pirates on the penultimate day of the season’s penultimate month.

Manager Derek Shelton said Friday night that Bednar would no longer be the closer before the Pirates lost 10-8 to the Cleveland Guardians in the opener of a three-game series at Progressive Field. Shelton will go with a committee approach to close games.

The move shouldn’t be surprising in the context of Bednar’s recent performances. In 10 games since Aug. 7, he is 0-4 with an 11.17 ERA. He has also blown half of his six save opportunities.

“It’s something that will take a little pressure off of him,” Shelton said. “We know that this guy has been really good over the last couple of years. Right now, he’s scuffling a little bit. So, we’re adjusting that up a bit to take a little bit off of him.”

Yet it would have been difficult to predict this when the Pirates convened in Bradenton on Valentine’s Day.

Bednar has been a Pirates’ pillar since being acquired from the San Diego Padres in a trade before the 2021 season. In a three-season span from 2021-23, the hometown hero from Mars High School had 61 saves and a 2.25 ERA in 172 games.

Bednar tied for the National League lead with 39 saves last season with a 2.00 ERA in 56 games while being selected to the All-Star Game for a second consecutive year.

It was little wonder that the Pirates felt the back end of the bullpen was their biggest strength by the end of the offseason. They had signed six-time All-Star left-hander Aroldis Chapman to share set-up duties along with promising Colin Holderman in front of Bednar.

However, Bednar hasn’t been right all season and it likely stems from the strained right lat he sustained early in spring training. That limited Bednar to just two Grapefruit League appearances during the final three days of the exhibition season and it seems like Bednar has been trying to catch up ever since.

Bednar’s season statistics tell the story. He has a 3-7 record with a 6.32 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He also has blown six of 29 save opportunities after having three blown saves last season.

Even when Bednar converted 18 consecutive saves during a 35-appearance span from April 18-Aug. 1 and had a 1.23 ERA, he never seemed quite right. His pitches just weren’t as crisp as in years past.

The Pirates have freefallen out of contention this month, going from 2.5 games out of the third NL wild card. There is plenty of blame for the collapse and Bednar has been one of the main culprits.

Bednar seemingly hit rock bottom Wednesday as he gave up five runs in the ninth inning while the Chicago Cubs completed a comeback from a 10-3 deficit in the seventh inning to win 14-10 in PNC Park. It is not an exaggeration to say it was one of the worst losses in the history of a franchise that has done plenty of losing over the last four decades.

The tough part is that no one would wish this kind of season on Bednar. He is a fan favorite and popular among his teammates. Bednar doesn’t seem to have an enemy in the world.

The truth is that the Pirates can no longer trust Bednar to close out games.

Shelton had to make a tough decision to make. He made the right decision.