Pirates' David Bednar: Avoids arbitration with Pittsburgh

The Pirates and Bednar avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $4.51 million contract Thursday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

It's a sizable, well-earned raise for Bednar in what was his first year of arbitration eligibility. He's collected 61 saves while posting a 2.25 ERA and 226:56 K:BB over 179.2 innings during his time in Pittsburgh, blossoming into one of the best closers in baseball.