Younger Bednar signs Giants deal

SAN FRANCISCO — This ballpark, the beautiful one by the bay, will always be special forthe Bednar family.

It’s where Pirates reliever David Bednar made his MLB debut Sept. 1, 2019 with the San Diego Padres. And on Friday, it’s where younger brother Will was officially introduced after the Giants finalized the contract of their first-round pick in the MLB Draft.

A dominant right-handed pitcher out of Mississippi State the Giants took with the 14th pick, Bednar signed for $3.65 million, which is slightly under the slotted value for that pick ($4,036,800).

Inthe hours before Friday’s game, the Bednar clan took turns posing for pictures and soaked in the moment. During batting practice, Pirates players came up to Will Bednar, who was standing with David, introducing themselves and congratulating the 21-year-old.

One visit — from fellow Mississippi State product Adam Frazier — seemed particularly animated.

“It’s just awesome to finally get here and experience this,” Will said.

It was a moment, Will said, that he and his family had been anticipating and even circled on the calendar, realizing since the Giants drafted him that these teams could meet around the time he would the oretically sign.

“Me and him have completely different kind of paths,” Will said of David. “But I know from him that it’s a long road and gritty. But I’m ready for it and have already learned a lot from him.”

Will Bednar went 9-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 19 games (16 starts) and 139 strikeouts (sixth-mostin NCAA Division I) this past season for the national champion Bulldogs, earning the win in the titleclinching game by pitching six hitless innings with three walks and four strikeouts.

The younger Bednar was 30 with a 1.47 ERA in three College World Series starts.

“It’s really cool how the stars aligned there and everything worked out the way it did,” Will added.

Friday, unfortunately, did not offer many sightseeing possibilities for the Bednar family, who arrived at 1 p.m. and pretty much went straight to Oracle Park. They’re hoping to become tourists Saturday, with Will saying he’s really looking forward to seeing Alcatraz before flyingout Sunday.

This period of time has certainly been a whirlwind for the younger Bednar, who spent some time around Pittsburgh after the College World Series. Will threw some but also finally took a breath following a terrific college season.

From here, Bednar will report to Scottsdale, Ariz., which is basically the Giants’ version of Pirate City. It’ll be a slow build-back, with a few games with one of San Francisco’s affiliates a possibility.

As for the next two nights, Will Bednar has relished the reunion, but he also expects to feel conflicted. He’ll be rooting for the Giants, obviously, but that will be tough if David winds up pitching.

“Maybe for like the eighth inning; just when my brother pitches, I’ll root for the Pirates,” Will said. “But I’ll be a Giants fan.

“It’s just really cool how this stuff has come full circle.”

Oviedo returns

The Pirates on Friday recalled Luis Oviedo from his rehab assignment and optioned Max Kranick to Class AAA Indiana polis.

Oviedo, a Rule 5 pick this past December, has been out since June 7 due to a left quad strain. He was 0-2 with a 8.00 ERA in four games (three starts)with the Indians.

Before he was injured, Oviedo, 22, saw sporadic time and typically appeared in lopsided games. He’s 1-1 with a 7.23 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 18⅔innings.

Kranick made his third MLB start Wednesday and lasted just three-plus innings in a no-decision. He’s allowed seven earned runs over 11 gamesin those starts.

Speaking before Thursday’s game, Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Oviedo could potentially start some games for the Pirates, although they expected him to reprise his long-relief at first.

“Ithink he’ll pitch out of the bullpen, at least initially,” Shelton said. “To say he won’t get some starts, I won’t say that he will, I won’t say that he won’t because we’ve given guys opportunity.”

No minor things

A couple of transactions to notein the minor leagues …

• Dillon Peters, the lefthanded pitcher the Pirates acquired from the Angels for cash earlier this week was active in Class AAA Indianapolis.

• Right-handed reliever Hunter Stratton was promoted from Class AA Altoona to the Pirates’ top minor league affiliate. Stratton has put together seven consecutive scoreless appearances and was scored upon just three times in his 20 games with the Curve, going 2-0 with a1.42 ERA.

• Steven Brault made the third start of his rehab from a left lat strain, the second with Class AAA Indianapolis. The left-hander was also dominant, not allowing a hit, run or walk in four innings. Brault struck out six and threw 39 of his 58 pitches for strikes. It’s hard to imagine him needing more than one additional rehab start before rejoining the bigclub.