Texas Rangers Sign Reliever Kirby Yates To One-Year Contract

Free agent Kirby Yates joined the Texas Rangers bullpen after posting a 3.28 ERA for the Atlanta Braves in 2023.

It's no secret that the Texas Rangers needed to add quality bullpen arms to their roster prior to the 2024 season. And while the offseason has been relatively slow so far, the World Series champions made an effort to address the problem on Tuesday. 

The Rangers signed reliever Kirby Yates to a one-year deal, the team announced Wednesday, for $4.5 million.

Yates, 36, rebounded as a member of the Atlanta Braves in 2023 coming out of the bullpen, posting a 3.28 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings. Injuries had hindered his success over the past three seasons and limited his innings. 

From 2020-2022, Yates pitched a combined 11 1/3 innings. He did not pitch during the 2021 season after undergoing elbow surgery in 2020.  

Former Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Kirby Yates is joining the Texas Rangers on a one-year contract / Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Before the injury, Yates had emerged as a quality bullpen arm for the San Diego Padres. He led the National League in saves (41) in 2019 and posted a career-low 1.19 ERA. He was also named an All-Star that season and struck out 101 batters in 60 2/3 innings.

During the Winter Meetings, Rangers general manager Chris Young mentioned the club would prioritize strengthening the bullpen after posting a 4.77 team ERA. Texas also struggled with save opportunities, posting a 47.6 percent success rate in 2023. 

“[Bullpens] can be very volatile,” Young said. “I think that's one of the important reasons to have a lot of numbers and have depth and to have competition in Spring Training and to have non-roster invites. We're going to take the 13 best for our pitching staff, and so I think it's a really important aspect in terms of building that out.”

Texas could also elect to re-sign right-hander Chris Stratton and left-handers Aroldis Chapman and Will Smith. Smith posted a 4.40 ERA in 57 1/3 innings and struck out 55 batters. Chapman, a midseason acquisition from the Royals, finished with a 3.72 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 29 innings.

Stratton, who was a part of the Jordan Montgomery trade, finished with a 3.41 ERA in 29 innings and struck out 22. Texas is also expected to be in the mix for Padres closer Josh Hader. 

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