TAMPA, Fla. — Three months before David Bednar was paroled from baseball purgatory with a summer of ’25 trade to the Yankees, the husky, bearded reliever was behind the wheel driving west on I-80 with his wife in the passenger’s seat.

His mind raced thinking about his stunning immediate future during a six-hour drive from Pittsburgh to Indianapolis, home of the Pirates’ Triple-A farm club.

Bednar was numb, frustrated and upset. He’d followed the worst season of his career with a really bad opening series to 2025, three rough outings in four days in Miami, but was blown away by the Pirates’ punishment.

He figured he wouldn’t be closing games again right away or get a few days off, but a demotion of this magnitude?

This unexpected option was a shock to his system. Other than rehab games, he hadn’t pitched in the minors since 2019.

Bednar represented the Pirates at the All-Star Game in 2022 and 2023. He’s a hometown hero, a native Pittsburgher who gave Pirates fans something to love during their annual trek to losing records with low payrolls.

He was a big-time fan favorite.

“It was certainly humbling,” Bednar shared with NJ.com after Thursday’s spring training practice.

During that drive, Bednar kept telling himself to accept what happened. He told himself to get to Indy, work his way out of his slump and earn his way back to the big leagues. He knew he still had the pitching DNA to be a standout reliever in the big leagues … fastball velocity, quality secondary pitches, guts.

“Regardless of how I felt about it, I had to just deal with the circumstances at hand,” Bednar said. “I had no other option than to turn it into a positive. I couldn’t allow myself to dwell on it. I had to turn that into a positive and into a springboard going forward.

“It was all a mindset thing. There was definitely a day or two early on where I just had to get over myself. This is where I am, where my feet are. I had to get better and crawl out of that.”

It didn’t take long. He was back with the Pirates after five International League outings over 11 days, all of them outstanding. Wwith crisp stuff and improved command, he retired 15 of 16 hitters with seven strikeouts, the lone blemish a two-out infield single.

“I was consistent in the zone again, attacking guys,” Bednar said.

He did the same thing after rejoining the Pirates bullpen on April 19. His first day back, he pitched around two hits to work a scoreless inning with two punchouts. In his next three appearances, he faced nine hitters and retired all nine with five strikeouts, the last outing a first chance to close again that ended with a save at Dodger Stadium.

As April turned to May and then the summer months, Bednar was back in his All-Star form closing for a Pirates team that was freefalling again.

By the end of July, with the Pirates trade-deadline sellers once again, Bednar was dealt to the Yankees for three minor leaguers, catchers Rafael Flores and Edgleen Perez, and outfielder Brian Sanchez.

Bednar was leaving home, but excited jumping from a last-place team that often plays in front of small crowds at beautiful PNC Park to being in a pennant race for a historic franchise that always packs Yankee Stadium.

Bednar and three others joining the Yankees in four separate July 31 trades all had nightmare debuts in Miami on Aug. 1 when a 9-4, seventh-inning lead turned into a 13-12 loss, but it was just one bad game.

With the Yankees’ high-leverage relievers hot and cold for most of the season, Bednar stood out and quickly was elevated to closer. He was picked over two relievers who held the closer duties at times earlier in the season, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver, as well as a newcomer who closed in the first half for the Giants, Camilo Doval.

Doval struggled adjusting to New York, but Bednar was dependable. In 22 games with the Yanks, he was 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA and 10 saves to finish the season with a 2.30 ERA and 27 saves in 66 outings.

Bednar had never pitched in a pennant race for the Pirates, but thrived with the contending Yankees. There was more pressure, but that brought out his best.

“That’s what the market demands and what the New York Yankees are all about,” Bednar said. “Wearing the pinstripes is a privilege.”

The way Yankees captain Aaron Judge and everyone else welcomed Bednar made him feel not just accepted, but part of their brotherhood from jump.

“Coming from Pittsburgh right after the deadline was such a big change,” he said. “Everybody was awesome and made me a lot more comfortable to just be myself and go out there.”

“I think with that, you want to earn everybody’s trust. You do that by taking the ball and doing whatever you can to help the team.”

Bednar was a big help for the Yankees. He became the bullpen rock that they wrongly thought they’d acquired the previous winter when trading for Williams, who had been a star with the Brewers.

The Yankees made the playoffs as a 94-win Wild Card team that lost the division title to the Blue Jays in a tiebreaker, then beat the Red Sox in a Wild Card Series and lost a Division Series to Toronto with Bednar flourishing in his first postseason opportunity. In five games, he allowed one run in six innings with nine strikeouts.

Here is manager Aaron Boone’s takeaway on what Bednar brought the Yankees:

“Strike throwing with three pitches. The ability to land the breaking ball. He pitches with the fastball both sides of the plate, up and down. And then he’s got a really good split to go with it.

“So he’s got three pitches that he commands coupled with really good demeanor. He’s a really good competitor between the lines. He wants the ball. He’s fairly laid back off the field in a good way.”

Another attraction is Bednar, 31, wasn’t a rental pickup last summer. He still has another year before free agency, and at a good price $9 million.

There’s no competition this spring to determine who pitches the ninth.

“My plan is for Bednar to close,” said Boone, who will slot Fernando Cruz and Doval into setup roles.

There will be added duties for Bednar this season.

“I expect him to become one of the leaders down there for us,” Boone said. “He sets a good example with his work ethic and who he is and how he goes about his business. He’s a guy that I want our guys looking to a lot.”

Bednar smiled when hearing what Boone said during his talk with NJ.com. He’s looking forward to providing bullpen leadership because he can relate to everyone. He’s been traded twice, the first from San Diego to Pittsburgh. He’s had great seasons and a bad one. He’s gotten through slumps. He’s been a closer, setup guy and middle reliever.

“I’ve had the vantage point of a lot of different things throughout the bullpen,” he said. “I’ve been in a lot of different roles from closing games to last year I was optioned, so I understand the whole realm of it and I’m able to relate to a lot of different guys.

“I’ll try and give whatever wisdom whenever I can. A lot of us just lead by example and try to do the right thing.”

The Yankees were not a great bullpen last year, but it improved after Bednar was added.

Not yet two weeks into spring training, Bednar thinks it’ll be better this year. He feels that way based on what he’s seen in the early going from the Yankees returning relievers, the offseason trade acquisitions and some of the young arm who pitched in Double-A and Triple-A last year.

“Without a doubt, I think the talent is there with the amount of arms we have that are really special,” Bednar said. “It’s been really cool to see everybody come in to camp prepared and ready to roll.

“I’m really excited because it’s a really good group of guys. I think that helps create a really strong bullpen, that bond that we have and wanting to pick everybody up and pass the baton.”

It’ll be handed to Bednar when the Yankees are three outs from winning tight games.

Thinking back now to what happened last April, his 11 days Triple-A, Bednar wouldn’t change a thing because his road traveled zigzagged to the Bronx.

“I remember trying to process what happened during that six-hour drive to Indianapolis,” Bednar said. “I was thinking, ‘How quickly can I turn this into a positive and make it be the best thing for me?’ That’s what happened.”

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