With Bednar a free agent, who will be Yankees' closer in 2027?

You can make a compelling argument for the Yankees as MLB’s best pitching staff in 2026. They owned the best team ERA (3.23), and ace Cam Schlittler is likely to take home his first American League Cy Young Award.

That dominance extended to the bullpen, too. Yankees relievers posted a 3.13 ERA, second-best in MLB behind the Red Sox (3.00). David Bednar locked things down at the back end, securing 35 saves in 39 opportunities with a 2.47 ERA.

But Bednar is now a free agent. That leaves a big question mark as to who will fill the closer role for the Bronx Bombers in 2027 (and beyond).

The Yankees extended a qualifying offer to Bednar, a one-year deal worth $23.15 million. A reunion would make sense here, and the club could still hammer out a long-term deal with Bednar. Or he could decline the QO and sign elsewhere, leaving the Yankees with work to do to shore up the bullpen.

Here’s a look at New York’s potential paths toward handling the ninth inning next season.

Free agency

A reunion with Bednar may be the easiest and most sensible path forward. Entering his age-32 season, he appears poised to keep delivering. He tweaked his arsenal to lean heavily on a dominant splitter in 2026, and his underlying metrics were strong.

However, if Bednar doesn't return, here’s some good news: In a relatively weak free-agent class, back-end bullpen options are actually plentiful.

That starts with top-end arms like Adrian Morejon or Raisel Iglesias. Morejon owns stuff as good as it gets, but that may entice teams to target him as a starter ahead of his age-28 season. Iglesias, though he’ll pitch at age 37 next year, still posted a steady 2.55 ERA with 34 saves in 2026.

The next tier of free agents features players who have been closers before and could conceivably do so again, though they have questions in their profiles.

There’s 39-year-old Kenley Jansen, who turned in a 3.20 ERA and 22 saves in 2026 with his infamous cutter. You could look at Emilio Pagán, who struggled in the first half and battled injury before looking more like his 2025 self (32 saves) in the second half. Or there’s Pete Fairbanks and Carlos Estévez, both coming off injury-marred campaigns in search of a bounce back.

Further down the free-agent list, there’s a healthy crop of relievers who aren’t necessarily big-name closers, but they have high-leverage experience and nasty stuff that could make them fit for the job. That includes, but is not limited to, Alex Vesia, Bryan Abreu and Gregory Soto.

Trade

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. If the Yankees are in need of an outside addition at closer, might they come together with the Brewers on a marquee trade?

Of course, we’re referencing the Devin Williams swap ahead of the 2025 season. Things didn’t go as planned for Williams, who finished that season with a 4.79 ERA. But the trade made a ton of sense on paper.

This offseason, the World Series-winning Brewers could again look to move their closer. Trevor Megill is slated to hit free agency after next season. Milwaukee has had success dealing players in similar situations in the past.

Megill, 33 next season, did not debut until he was 27 and struggled in stints with the Cubs and Twins. The Brewers helped him find his form, a hard-throwing righty with a unique curveball, and he’s now posted 30 saves in back-to-back seasons.

In-house

Six non-Bednar Yankees recorded at least one save in 2026. Four are free agents (Ryan Yarbrough, Paul Blackburn, Tim Hill and John Schreiber), and one is a Giant (Camilo Doval).

Only one, Fernando Cruz, remains under club control. But Cruz finished the season on the 60-day injured list with a partial tear in his right ulnar collateral ligament, leaving his status uncertain.

Other internal closing options start with Brent Headrick, who enjoyed a massive breakout in 2026. He compiled a 2.18 ERA in 81 appearances, second-most in MLB. He has traits you’d like in a closer, with whiff and strikeout rates in the 91st and 92nd percentile, respectively. But does manager Aaron Boone want to take his best fireman out of that role? Headrick allowed just eight of 54 inherited runners to score this season.

There’s also starter Ryan Weathers, who could be a good conversion candidate after he’s dealt with injuries throughout his career. The Yankees have myriad starting options to make this a reasonable possibility, though Weathers -- another lefty with good stuff -- was on a strong run before he got hurt in 2026.

Though inexperienced, two young flamethrowers could also be candidates: righties Angel Chivilli and Carlos Lagrange. Both have high-octane fastballs and feature good secondary offerings to get strikeouts. The knock on Chivilli (3.78 ERA in 15 games) is a lack of command. Lagrange, meanwhile, has primarily been a starter in the Minor Leagues. The club’s No. 3 prospect started to work in relief in 2026 with eyes on helping the big league team, but that plan was derailed by injury. He carried a 4.48 ERA in Triple-A during his split duty.