Kirby Yates was introduced at Dodger Stadium, one day after his one-year, $13 million contract with the team was finalized. It’s the fifth press conference the Dodgers has held at the ballpark in the last two months, along with fellow new signees Blake Snell, Teoscar Hernández, Roki Sasaki, and Tanner Scott.
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes introduced Yates, which was fitting considering they were teammates for three years in the Rays system, beginning in 2013 in Triple-A Durham and continuing the next two years as both pitchers played together in both Triple-A and the majors.
“This is especially fun for me,” Gomes said during the press conference Friday, as shown on SportsNet LA. “We all know how good the upshot heater is, how nasty the splitty is. But you’re also getting the definition of a grinder, and great teammate with Kirby.
“He’s overcome long odds from being an undrafted free agent. He’s persevered through injury, and emerged on the other side of that as one the game’s best relievers.”
Yates, who turns 37 in March, missed the bulk of three full years due to elbow issues from 2020-22, including Tommy John surgery. But he’s been healthy the past two seasons, combining for a 2.21 ERA and 33.6-percent strikeout rate the last two seasons.
The right-hander will wear number 38 with the Dodgers, last worn by Yency Almonte in 2023.
More from reporters at the press conference
Adding Yates and Scott to an already-deep bullpen gives the Dodgers as high-octane a bullpen as they’ve had in years, and a handful of pitchers with closing experience. From Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register:
“I mean, on paper, it’s probably as good as you can get, really. You can say that for the entire roster,” Yates said. “I think everybody knows that. Everybody’s been talking about it. The more guys you can have down there that you can lean on in certain situations, the better it is for everybody to kind of help ease the load off certain guys. Some teams that are kind of a little bit thinner, you have to tend to ride some certain guys a lot more than other dudes. I don’t think we’ll have that problem here.”
More from Gomes, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times: “There’s a really strong combination of high-end talent and also depth. We feel like we’re in a good position.”
To make room on a full 40-man roster for Yates, veteran reliever Ryan Brasier was designated for assignment. Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic wrote about that side of the transaction, and what’s next in the coming days:
The Dodgers had reportedly been shopping Brasier as they finalized a deal with Yates and can continue to do so over the next few days. It would certainly behoove the Dodgers to find a trade partner or someone who would claim the last year of Brasier’s deal; after all, they are far enough over the competitive balance tax threshold that they will have to pay a 110 percent overage in addition to Brasier’s $4.5 million.
Brasier’s recent production would make him a strong fit for a contender. But at least one rival evaluator was skeptical of the Dodgers’ ability to find a trade partner, particularly when clubs could conceivably wait until he’s released and sign him for the league minimum.