After a decade of All-Stars, Pirates have open competition for closer role in spring training
Mar. 5—When David Bednar talked about his favorite pitchers for the Pittsburgh Pirates while growing up in Mars, he ticked off a list that included All-Star closers Joel Hanrahan, Jason Grilli and Mark Melancon.
Bednar isn't shy about sharing his dream of putting the finishing touches on a victory in the ninth inning some day for the Pirates, knowing there's a wide-open competition for the closer role.
"For sure, that's everybody's goal in the bullpen," said Bednar, who was acquired from the San Diego Padres in the Joe Musgrove trade. "That's the guy who has to get the most important outs of the game. I think building on that each day and taking it one day at a time. Ultimately, at the end of the day, getting outs when you're given the opportunity."
From Hanrahan (76 saves in 2011-12) to Grilli (33 in '13) to Melancon (130 in four years) to Felipe Vazquez (86 from '17-19), the Pirates had an All-Star closer almost every year of the past decade. Last year, Pirates manager Derek Shelton ordained Keone Kela the closer from the outset of spring training before his arm injury forced Richard Rodriguez into the role.
This year, the most coveted position in the bullpen is up for grabs.
"I would say right now we don't have one," Shelton said. "Richie did an unbelievable job in the opportunities that he had, but, as of right now, going in, we don't have one person penciled in there, and we'll kind of see as we go."
While the Pirates don't have a frontrunner, there are no shortage of candidates to be closer. Shelton said it starts with pitchers first making the big-league bullpen, then proving they can handle high-leverage chances.
"You put 'em in the situations late in the game," Shelton said, "and if they succeed, then they organically make themselves available for that role."
That gives an early edge to established right-handers Rodriguez and Kyle Crick and lefties Sam Howard and Chasen Shreve, who have pitched in the major leagues even if not necessarily in a closer role.
After two years of shining as a setup man, Rodriguez had a 2.70 ERA and 0.86 WHIP with four saves and 15 games finished last season as the de facto closer. Howard was used mostly in a middle relief role but had two blown saves in high-leverage situations. Crick once was projected to be a closer before his fastball velocity dipped last season.
"What an opportunity," said Crick, who has finished 38 games with two saves in his career but appeared in only seven last year. "I'm embracing the competition. We have a lot of good arms here. It should be a great competition. Richie was in the role at the end of last year, and rightfully so. He threw the most zeroes. He has the most experience in that role at that time.
"Really, right now, it's gonna be a healthy competition. It's about who throws the most zeroes in a row, and that's how it should be, you know? Who's going to put up the most zeroes in a row? That should be who's closing anyway."
That's where Blake Cederlind comes in. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-hander fits the closer prototype, bringing a dramatic flair with his blonde hair, facial expressions, grunts and a fastball that touches triple digits.
Cederlind put up zeroes in four of his five appearances last September, striking out four of the 16 batters he faced and not giving up a run, hit or a walk in those games. In the eighth inning of a 5-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 21, however, Cederlind struggled with the command on his cutter and gave up on the pitch, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk without getting an out.
It taught Cederlind a valuable lesson: It's not about one bad outing; it's how you respond. Three days later against the Cubs, he retired three batters on nine pitches, with one strikeout.
"Coming back and putting up a few more zeroes showed 'em that one inning isn't going to get me down," Cederlind said. "Really, what happened there was, I just got a little fastball heavy. I was missing early with the cutter, then we kind of bailed on it. That kind of led to the catastrophe that it turned into. It's more so keep coming back with that, regardless of whether I'm landing it or not."
Bednar tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his first seven appearances for the Padres in 2019 before giving up eight runs on nine hits — including five homers — with five strikeouts and four walks for a 13.50 ERA in his final six appearances.
Both Bednar and Cederlind know they first must make the 26-man roster out of spring training before they can even contemplate earning a first major league save.
"I'm not so much worried about a role right now. I'm just competing for a job," said Cederlind, who spent the offseason working on his slider. "I've got both my pitches honed in for this year, just gonna put them to the test and leave the decisions up to the decision makers."
The test is another challenge, as the Pirates aren't playing many nine-inning Grapefruit League games. So the closer candidates have to treat whichever inning they pitch as if it's the ninth.
"Ultimately, it doesn't really change for me," said Bednar, who has five strikeouts in two one-inning appearances. "I know it's pretty cliche but, regardless of what inning, I'm going out there competing with a here-it-is bulldog mentality and getting after it and being aggressive. Having that mindset, that you're going to come out on top more than not."
Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .
