by Cary Osborne
It’s one of those it-was-a-matter-of-time things with Kirby Yates and the Dodgers.
Yates was a minor leaguer in the Tampa Bay Rays Minor League system in 2013 and a rookie with the Rays in 2014. He was then a teammate of now Dodger Executive Vice President and General Manager Brandon Gomes. The executive vice president of Baseball Operations and GM of the Rays those seasons was Andrew Friedman.
Gomes said on Friday, after Yates’ introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium, that the right-handed pitcher had been an acquisition target of the Dodgers in the past. Gomes previously said that about other free agents the Dodgers have signed this offseason, including reliever Tanner Scott and outfielder Michael Conforto.
Yates’ signing — a one-year deal agreed to on Thursday — felt especially close to home.
“This one’s especially fun for me,” Gomes said.
It was close to home for Yates in another way.
His father grew up in La Habra and his mother is from Newport Beach. His grandfather is a big Dodger fan.
“It just hadn’t really sunk in until a few days ago to kind of understand the meaning of this (to) my family,” Yates said. “My phone has been nonstop since it was announced. And there’s a lot of people that are close to me that are very, very excited — including myself.”
Yates — a two-time All-Star — ranked second among all Major League relievers in ERA last season at 1.17. He did so in his age-37 season and three years removed from Tommy John surgery.
“Last year, I felt really good. I kind of slid into a role that I was very comfortable with. And I still felt going into that year that I could really pitch at a high, high level still. And I proved that to myself,” Yates said. “I still think I got a few more good years. I know at 38 I’ve been doing this for a while, but I think if you look at the log of innings and everything, I don’t think it matches up to a normal 38-year-old. And I still think I can do this for a few more years at a high level, and I like where I’m at.”
Yates turns 38 on March 25. He didn’t make it to the big leagues until he was 27 in 2014. The career Major League inning log is 411 1/3.
He broke out and became an All-Star with San Diego in 2019 with a 1.19 ERA and an MLB-best 41 saves — not long after adding a split-finger fastball.
He missed the 2021 season due to the Tommy John surgery and returned with Atlanta in 2022. Last year with Texas, he saved 33 games, struck out 12.4 batters per nine innings and limited opponents to a .113 average in 61 games.
“We all know how good the upshot heater is, how nasty the split is, but you’re also getting the definition of a grinder and a great teammate,” Gomes said. “He’s overcome all odds — from being a non-drafted free agent, he’s persevered through injury and emerged on the other side of that as one of the game’s best relievers. He’s had to earn it every step of the way, and he’s done it with his work ethic, mental toughness and relentless nature on the mound, all while making sure that he’s doing his best to make everybody around him as good as possible.”
This makes the third team Yates has pitched for after it won the World Series. He signed with the Braves in 2022, the Rangers in 2024 and the Dodgers in 2025. He has appeared in one postseason game in his career.
“I think the difference this time is how loaded this team is compared to everybody else,” Yates said. “And I’m looking forward to finally trying to make that run and be able to pitch deep into the postseason.”
Kirby Yates finds his way to LA at a peak moment was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.