All-Star Ex-Yankees' Hurler Deemed Top Trade Deadline Target For New York

An AL All-Star reliever has been tabbed as a top trade deadline target for the Yankees.

Jul 16, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; American League pitcher Kirby Yates of the Texas Rangers (39) pitches at the top of the eight inning during the 2024 MLB All-Star game at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

A reunion would make sense and may be in the cards for the New York Yankees.

Texas Rangers All-Star closer Kirby Yates had a forgettable tenure with the Yankees. In 41 games with New York in 2016, the righty posted a 5.23 ERA.

However, the 37-year-old has since become one of baseball's best relievers; proven by the 1.05 ERA, 34 strikeouts, and 16 saves he has amassed in 34.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen for the defending World Series champions this season. 

With Texas being four games under .500, five games back in the AL West, dealing their closer, who is on an expiring deal, to a contender would make a lot of sense if the Rangers can't catch fire soon after the All-Star break.

Which means the Yankees could come calling.

Mark Sanchez of The New York Post has tabbed Yates as someone the Yankees could consider trading for before the July 30 trade deadline. 

Yates, who pitched a clean eighth inning in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game that included strikeouts of Washington Nationals’ standout CJ Abrams and San Francisco Giants’ slugger Heliot Ramos, considers his 2016 season with New York as a major turning point in his career. 

“Yates credits the Yankees clubhouse in general and CC Sabathia in particular for teaching him the day-to-day routines that helped him “change everything” in the following offseason,” Sanchez wrote. 

While Yates’ out-pitch with the Yankees was a slider, the splitter he developed during that fateful 2016-2017 offseason has been a massive factor in his MLB renaissance. 

The veteran reliever debuted in 2014 and is still around a decade later, pitching at a high-level. After leaving New York in 2016, he spent time with the Los Angeles Angels, the San Diego Padres, and the Atlanta Braves before signing a one-year, $4.5 million contract with Texas this past offseason.

While Tuesday only marked Yates' second All-Star appearance, his career 3.30 ERA proves that he can be counted on.

Now, Yates could help stabilize a Yankee bullpen whose 5.14 ERA in the past 30 days is 26th in MLB.

Sanchez's article also noted how proud Yates is to have once been a Yankee.

“It’s a pretty cool feeling telling people you got to play for the New York Yankees for a year,” Yates said. “It’s definitely a unique, special place. I think everybody that’s played there will tell you that.”

Perhaps Yates will be playing there once again by the end of this month.