The New York Yankees are trying to project calm around David Bednar, but the conversation around their closer is getting harder to brush aside after another shaky outing in a 3-2 loss to the Athletics.
According to the New York Post, Bednar is not worried about his early velocity dip, and manager Aaron Boone has echoed that confidence.
Bednar pointed to the obvious factor after Wednesday’s game: the cold. Given what the Yankees dealt with in the Bronx, that explanation is fair. But it is also only part of the story.
Yankees Closer Downplays Velocity Dip
GettyDavid Bednar #53 and Austin Wells #28 of the New York Yankees celebrate their win against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on April 01, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Bednar’s message was simple.
“It’s early in the season and the weather is cold,” he said. “It’s nothing to panic about.”
That is a reasonable response in early April, especially in New York. The conditions were brutal enough that Jazz Chisholm Jr. admitted to NJ.com he could barely feel his hands at the plate, a reminder that cold weather does not just affect hitters. Pitchers feel it too, especially relievers asked to come in late without the benefit of building rhythm over multiple innings.
Bednar also may have been pitching through some accumulated fatigue. The Post noted he had recently thrown 73 pitches across consecutive appearances, which matters for any reliever, but especially one whose game depends on power stuff and late life.
So yes, the weather matters. Workload matters too.
But the Yankees still have a performance issue to monitor.
Bednar’s Recent Results Show Why Yankees Are Watching
GettyDavid Bednar #53 of the New York Yankees pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during game three of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium on October 07, 2025 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
Even before Wednesday’s loss, Bednar’s outings had become less clean.
He had converted each of his first five save chances, which gave the Yankees some cover early on. Underneath that, though, the trend has been shakier. Over his last four games, he has allowed eight hits and three runs in 4 1/3 innings. That traffic finally caught up to him against Oakland, when he gave up a leadoff single, a double, and then the go-ahead sacrifice fly.
That is not a collapse. But it is enough to raise eyebrows.
The more concerning detail is the velocity. Bednar’s fastball and splitter have both backed up a bit, and while he and Boone insist there is no reason for alarm, closers live on thin margins. A small dip in stuff can turn routine outs into loud contact, especially when hitters no longer have to gear up for the same top-end velocity.
That is what makes this worth tracking.
Cold Weather May Explain Some of It, Not All of It
GettyDavid Bednar #53 of the New York Yankees throws a pitch against the Athletics during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium on April 08, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Caean Couto/Getty Images)
The Yankees can reasonably point to the weather from Wednesday night. That does not mean they should stop there.
Cold conditions can flatten offense and make pitchers feel less crisp, but they do not automatically explain every trend. Bednar admitted the bigger issue in the loss was execution, saying he got ahead of hitters but could not finish them off. That is where the conversation shifts from environment to command and put-away quality.
For a closer, finishing counts is everything.
If the stuff is a tick down and the command is not sharp enough to compensate, the role starts to get stressful quickly. That does not mean Bednar is in danger of losing it, but it does mean the Yankees need better conviction from him than they got Wednesday.
What This Means for Yankees Moving Forward
GettyDavid Bednar #53 and Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees celebrate the win over the Athletics at Yankee Stadium on April 07, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The New York Yankees defeated the Athletics 5-3. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The good news for New York is that there is no need to overreact yet.
It is April. Bednar has a track record. The weather in the Bronx was miserable, and the upcoming trip to Tampa could offer a better read in a controlled environment.
Still, the Yankees are not wrong to watch closely.
Bednar’s explanation makes sense. The cold likely played a role. But relievers are judged on outcomes, and the recent outcomes have been less convincing than the save totals suggest.
That is the real takeaway.
The Yankees do not need to panic about Bednar’s velocity dip today. They do need to make sure it does not still look like this a week from now, because once a closer starts living in too many stressful innings, concern tends to arrive before anyone wants to admit it.
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