January 6: Los Angeles officially announced the signing on Tuesday evening. Their number of 40 men rises to 38.
December 30: The Angels have reportedly agreed to a one-year, $5MM contract with the free agent Kirby Yates. The veteran right-hander is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Yates gives the Angels another veteran reliever with some closing experience who needs a rebound — in his case, before his age-39 season. The Halos will hope to eventually find full-time employment Robert Stephenson in the final season of his three-year, $33MM contract. They also signed former Jay closer Jordan Romano and veteran reliever Drew Pomeranz depending on the low price, one-year contracts and this off-season.
If he’s healthy — a big caveat, given the injury history at issue here — Yates could be the team’s best. The two-time All-Star led the NL with 41 saves back in 2019 and has posted two full seasons with an ERA just shy of 1.20, including the 2024 season with Texas.
Since joining the Padres at age 30, the late bloomer Yates has pitched 355 innings with a 2.84 earned run average, 97 saves, 65 catches and just 13 save opportunities. He struck out 35.1% of his batters on the way (backed by a great swing rate of 15.7%) and walked 9.6% of the batters he faced. Coincidentally, the Angels were the team from which the Padres claimed Yates was waived. They picked up Yates themselves on waivers before October. He pitched just one inning as an Angel and scored two runs.
Now Yates is making a second comeback with the Angels. His signing reunites him with veteran coach Mike Maddux, who was Yates’ coach with the ’24 Rangers. Yates saved 33 games and posted a 1.17 ERA with a 36% strikeout rate that season.
That performance was enough to earn him a guaranteed $13MM one-year deal with the Dodgers. But while Yates got the first World Series ring of his career, the marriage didn’t go well. He was placed on the injured list three times – twice with a hamstring strain and once with a back injury – and pitched just 41 1/3 innings. The veteran righty’s 5.23 earned run average was one of the worst marks of his career, and his 92.8 mph four-seamer was his lowest since 2013. Yates is still striking out an impressive 29.6% of his opponents, but he’s been hit by home runs, averaging 6 per ninetripper.
While Yates is often very good when healthy, he has had his share of injuries. He pitched just 4 1/3 innings in 2020 due to bone spurs in his elbow. He signed with the Blue Jays in free agency at the time but did not pitch an inning for Toronto. He required Tommy John surgery at the end of spring training. Since 2020-22, Yates has pitched just 11 1/3 innings in the majors.
The Angels will bet on Yates’ record and hope for better relief. Between Yates, Stephenson, Romano and Pomeranz, they certainly don’t lack talent at the end of the bullpen – but there is a clear lack of consistency and consistency. They will hope to add a flamethrower Ben Joyce in that mix at some point this season, though his timetable for returning from surgery last May to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder remains shaky.
It’s unclear where the Yates signing took the Angels’ money. RosterResource revealed that they will earn around $172MM this morning, but that was before the Anthony Rendon agreed to defer the final year and $38MM of his contract for a reported three to five seasons. The details of that arrangement still haven’t fully worked out, but it’s clear the Angels are a little south of the $206MM cap hit they ended the 2025 campaign with.
Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News first reported that Yates was signing a one-year deal with the Angels. Jon Heyman of The New York Post had a $5MM guarantee.
