1:17 PM: The Angels have agreed to a one-year contract with the free agent reliever Kirby Yates, reports Ari Alexander of 7News. The right-hander’s agreement is still awaiting a physical examination. Yates is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Yates gives the Angels another veteran reliever with some slot experience in need of a rebound — in his case, ahead of what will be his age-39 season. The Halos hope to finally get a full workload out Robert Stephenson in the final season of his three-year, $33 million contract. They also signed former Jays closer Jordan Romano and experienced reliever Drew Pomeranz also this season to cheap, one-year contracts.
If healthy — an important caveat, given the injury history at stake here — Yates could be the best of the bunch. The two-time All-Star led the NL with 41 saves in 2019 and has twice posted complete seasons with an ERA shy of 1.20, including as recently as the 2024 season with Texas.
Since breaking out at age 30 with the Padres, the late-blooming Yates has thrown 355 innings with a 2.84 earned run average, 97 saves, 65 holds and just 13 blown save opportunities. He’s waved off a whopping 35.1% of opponents along the way (backed by a huge 15.7% swinging-strike rate) and walked 9.6% of the batters he’s faced. Coincidentally enough, the Angels were the team from which the Padres claimed Yates off waivers. They picked up Yates themselves in October via waivers. He pitched just one inning as Angel and was tagged for two runs.
Yates now returns for a second stint with the Angels. The signing reunites him with veteran pitching coach Mike Maddux, who was Yates’ pitching coach with the ’24 Rangers. Yates saved 33 games that season and posted an immaculate 1.17 ERA with a 36% strikeout rate.
That performance was enough to earn him a hefty $13 million guarantee on a one-year contract with the Dodgers. But while Yates landed the first World Series ring of his career, the marriage did not go particularly well. He was placed on the injured list three times – twice due to hamstring injuries and once due to a lower 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 average four-seam speed of 93.8 mph was his lowest since 2013. Yates still beat an excellent 29.6% of his opponents, but he was doomed by home runs, averaging 1.96 round-trippers per nine frames.
While Yates has typically performed excellently when healthy, he has also had his fair 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 this offseason, but never pitched an inning for Toronto. At the end of spring training, Tommy John surgery was required. From 2020-22, Yates threw just 11 1/3 innings in the majors.
The Angels will bet on Yates’ track record and hope for better help. Between Yates, Stephenson, Romano and Pomeranz, they certainly don’t lack talent at the back end of the bullpen – but there is a distinct lack of consistency and durability. They hope to add a flamethrower Ben Joyce to that mix sometime this season, although his timetable for a return from last May’s surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder remains unclear.
It’s not entirely clear where Yates’ signing will take the Angels’ payroll. RosterResource projected them for a payroll of about $172 million this morning, but that was before the Angels and Anthony Rendon agreed to defer final year payments and $38 million on his contract for a reported three to five seasons. Details surrounding that still-new arrangement have yet to fully emerge, but it’s clear the Angels are well south of the roughly $206 million payroll figure they ended the 2025 campaign with.
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