The D-backs have been available in the market for a high-leverage reliever all through the offseason, they usually’re among the many golf equipment with curiosity in right-hander Kirby Yates, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The Snakes have checked out a number of choices on the commerce market however balked on the asking value for Devin Williams — since traded to the Yankees — and their curiosity in Cardinals stopper Ryan Helsley could be moot if St. Louis finally opts to carry him.
Arizona GM Mike Hazen has left little doubt about his crew’s need so as to add a closing choice this offseason. “I nonetheless really feel like a back-end bullpen man to assist out with [Justin Martinez] and with [A.J. Puk] and people guys, I nonetheless see that,” Hazen mentioned in a radio look again in early November. “I believed when [Paul Sewald] was closing, we had the perfect model of who we had been, frankly. … However, we all know [Martinez and Puk] can shut, too, so we’ll see.
Yates, 38 in March, is recent off a dominant rebound marketing campaign with the Rangers, for whom he saved 33 video games whereas pitching to a 1.17 ERA over the lifetime of 61 2/3 innings. Yates earned his second profession All-Star nod, fanned 35.9% of the opponents he confronted, and issued walks at a 9.6% clip (greater than common however typically offset by the gaudy strikeout fee).
The 2024 season was Yates’ second consecutive yr with 60-plus innings pitched, however accidents have hindered the righty at varied factors in his profession. He threw solely 11 1/3 large league innings from 2020-22; he was restricted to 6 appearances in 2020 due to an elbow harm — one which wound up requiring Tommy John surgical procedure a yr later in 2021 (his second TJS operation). That process worn out his total 2021 season and the vast majority of his 2022 marketing campaign.
When wholesome, Yates has been a lights-out late-inning choice in recent times. He’s the epitome of a late bloomer, as he didn’t really solidify himself as a top quality large league reliever till his age-30 season and didn’t get away in full till his age-31 marketing campaign with the Padres, in 2018. Since that breakout, Yates boasts a scintillating 2.21 ERA with 93 saves, 30 holds, a 35.5% strikeout fee and a ten% stroll fee.
Yates would (clearly) match the Diamondbacks’ need for a bona fide stopper on the finish of the bullpen. The query is whether or not he’ll match into the price range. After final yr’s sensible displaying, he’s in place to command an eight-figure wage, even perhaps over a multi-year deal if a crew isn’t scared off by providing two years to a 38-year-old who’s twice required UCL surgical procedure.
Hazen mentioned within the aforementioned radio look that he anticipated payroll to be within the common neighborhood of 2025’s $173MM mark. RosterResource presently initiatives a $160MM payroll for the Diamondbacks. Yates may command the majority or even perhaps the whole lot of the remaining price range, although it’s all the time doable that different trades will affect the payroll. The D-backs have obtained commerce curiosity of their younger outfielders and of their beginning rotation. The membership certainly nonetheless hopes to shed at the least a portion of the $22.5MM owed to Jordan Montgomery.
A multi-year deal for Yates can be almost unprecedented for a reliever this outdated. As proven in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the one free agent relievers prior to now decade to signal multi-year offers starting of their age-38 season are Jason Grilli and Darren O’Day, each of whom signed for a complete of $8MM or much less. The one actual comp for a pitcher of this age commanding a multi-year deal at a premium fee is Daniel Bard’s two-year, $19MM extension with the Rockies again in July 2022 — a deal that clearly didn’t pan out.
