Yankees say pitcher’s concerning trend doesn’t worry them: ‘Nothing to panic about’
The Yankees are not publicly expressing any worry about David Bednar’s dip in velocity to start the season. The closer suffered the loss in Wednesday’s 3-2 game against the A’s . It was the third time in four games in which he’s allowed an earned run — and yet another outing in which his velocity was down.
“It’s early in the season and the weather [is cold],” Bednar told reporters, via The New York Post . “It’s nothing to panic about. ” Said manager Aaron Boone : “He’s been consistently in the mid-90s.
This is a stretch where he’s thrown a lot of pitches ... I think once we get rolling into this, we’ll be fine. This time, it’s very cold — sometimes guys tick up and down with their heaters.
But nothing I’m concerned about it. " Despite drawing three chases on 15 pitches on Wednesday, Bednar’s fastball averaged 95. 2 mph while his splitter averaged 90.
2. His 2026 velocity averages (95. 6 mph on his fastball) are more than a notch below where he was the last two seasons, which was a shade above 97 mph on his fastball.