One of the most electric players to watch in 2024 was Pittsburgh Pirates rookie starting pitcher Paul Skenes. Skenes made his MLB debut in mid-May and immediately took the league by storm.
In just a short month and a half, Skenes impressed enough to earn the right to be the starting pitcher in the MLB All-Star Game. Skenes finished out the season with an 11-3 record to go along with a 1.96 ERA. His explosive repertoire helped him rack up 170 strikeouts in just 133 innings of work. As good as these numbers are, they could have been even better. However, even with the bullpen struggles last season it sounds like the Pirates organization has not done Skenes any favors this winter.
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Paul Skenes not getting much help in 2025, Derek Shelton implies
In an interview with Foul Territory, Pirates manager Derek Shelton implied that he does not know who his closer will be in 2025. David Bednar who is a two-time All-Star and led the National League in saves (39) back in 2023 feels like the obvious choice.
When Shelton was asked if Bednar would be his closer, he responded with a head-scratching statement.
Pirates Manager Derek Shelton, on if David Bednar is his closer in 2025:
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) February 25, 2025
"I don't think we're ready to say that, but I think we feel very good with the fact that we have a guy who was a two-time All-Star closer." pic.twitter.com/s3aZNzVoDg
“I don’t think we’re ready to say that, but I think we feel very good with the fact we have a guy who was a two-time all-star closer,” Shelton said.
There were numerous occasions last season in which the Pirates bullpen let Paul Skenes down. After absolutely shoving for 6+ innings at times, Skenes would hand the ball over to his relievers who would then give up a lead and essentially steal a win from the NL Rookie of the Year.
To no surprise, the Pirates did not make significant additions this offseason. Even though they have one of the best starting pitchers in the league, Pittsburgh is not exactly World Series contenders making them less appealing to big name free agents.
For those of you who only believe in statistics, let’s take a look at last year’s numbers. The Pirates bullpen ranked 27th in the MLB in ERA (4.49) and blew 29 saves which was tied for the third most in all of baseball. At least the Pirates have a two-time All-Star as their closer, right? Well, maybe.
If Bednar is not going to be the closer for the Pirates in 2025, who in the world will? The likelihood of Pittsburgh acquiring high-leverage bullpen arms is significantly low in their small market. It really feels like the bullpen concerns followed by Shelton’s uncertainty is feeding into the inevitable departure of Skenes when his current contract expires.