Cody Snavely
Well, I’m genuinely out of words at this point as the Los Angeles Dodgers keep on adding, this time, reportedly acquiring veteran right-handed relief pitcher Kirby Yates.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reported the deal, which is still being finalized with a physical pending, as a “tentative agreement.”
The Dodgers are just off the heels of adding the best relief pitcher on the open market in Tanner Scott, who reportedly inked a 4-year, $72 million contract with Los Angeles over the weekend.
However, the Dodgers’ offseason has been much more than just a few big signings. They’ve signed multiple top free agents and the biggest bargain in baseball, with international free agent star Rōki Sasaki coming stateside.
Yates, 37, is one of the older relief pitching arms on the market but has been steller throughout most of his career with a 3.17 ERA in 411.2 innings pitched.
A former all-star closer for the National League West rival, the San Diego Padres, Yates hit a stumble in his career after the 2020 season, in which he posted a career-high 12.46 ERA before missing the entire 2021 season with Tommy John Surgery.
Yates would rebound well with the Atlanta Braves bullpen, posting a 3.28 ERA and collecting five saves in 60.1 innings, but would turn back the clock this past season.
Yates was one of the best pitchers in the American League last season with the Texas Rangers and reverted back to his pre-2020 self pitching to a 1.17 ERA, 0.827 WHIP, 12.4 K/9 along with thirty-three saves in 61.1 innings pitched.
Due to his success with Yates and the Rangers amid their World Series hangover, his name was popular in many trade discussions, but ultimately, nothing ever came up.
Still, Yates put together a remarkable 2024 campaign, including ranking 2nd in ERA (1.17), 1st in AVG (.111), 6th in K% (35.9%), 8th in WHIP (0.83), 10th in FIP (2.50) and 12th in K/BB (24.1).
The Dodgers reported that the acquisition of Yates was surprising, as after the Dodgers officially announced Tanner Scott, their 40-man roster would be full, and their bullpen would be locked in with four potential closers.
Nonetheless, Yates will join a Dodgers team that has been highly active this winter, bringing in lefty Blake Snell, Michael Conforto, Heyseong Kim, Rōki Sasaki, Tanner Scott and re-signing Blake Treinen, Teoscar Hernández and extending Tommy Edman.
The other part of this report from Nightengale is that the 2024 trade deadline acquisition Michael Kopech is likely to miss the start of the upcoming season with an undisclosed injury.
Yates is a great backup plan with Kopech and Graterol set to miss some time, but the Dodgers will likely have a massive roster crunch during or leading up to spring training, which will be something to monitor.
Still, the “bad for baseball” crowd will be in full force today, and the rest of the year as the Dodgers payroll is already projected to be north of $380 million, and by all accounts, they still want to re-sign Clayton Kershaw and Kiké Hernández.
Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
