Yankees Face $60M Call on Bednar as Bullpen Tops Winter Shopping List

The New York Yankees' winter will start in the bullpen, and the price of keeping it together is becoming clear. ESPN's Kiley McDaniel projects that closer David Bednar, a free agent after his final year of arbitration, will command a three-year, $60 million contract, a figure in line with a separate prediction of three years and $55 million from The Athletic's Jim Bowden. Bednar, who was paid $9 million in 2026 and posted a 2.39 ERA across 86 games with the Yankees, received a one-year, $23 million qualifying offer on November 2, but he is not expected to accept it and has until November 17 to decide. General manager Brian Cashman must also replace Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham and upgrade at other spots, but keeping Bednar is the headline item, with setup reliever Paul Blackburn and a run at San Diego left-hander Adrian Morejon also on the agenda. Six Yankees relievers reached free agency, so the bullpen could look very different by spring training if Cashman cannot retain his core pieces. Bednar's case is stronger than that of Devin Williams, who landed three years and $51 million with deferrals last winter, and the Yankees know the cost of letting a proven closer walk. Whether they meet the $60 million projection will be one of the first big tests of their offseason.