Los Angeles Dodgers free agent reliever Kirby Yates has found his next home, and it won’t be far from Chavez Ravine.
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Yates is signing a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels, per MLB insider Ari Alexander. The right-hander joined the Dodgers last offseason as one of the many pitchers the defending champions signed ahead of the 2025 season.
Last winter, pitching defined the Dodgers’ offseason moves with the arrivals of Yates, Tanner Scott, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki. Yates inked a one-year, $13 million deal with the Dodgers.
The contract was somewhat surprising as president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman typically doesn’t spend big on relievers. That changed last offseason with Yates’ $13 million deal and Scott’s $72 million deal.
Unfortunately for the Dodgers, neither Yates nor Scott lived up to expectations in 2025.
Yates, 38, sported a 5.23 ERA with 52 strikeouts across 41.1 innings of work last season. He dealt with multiple injuries throughout the year, with a hamstring strain effectively ending his season in September.
The right-hander was not able to pitch in the postseason.
Yates’ performance was likely hampered by injury as his numbers were drastically different in 2024, when he earned his second All-Star selection as a member of the Texas Rangers. Yates produced a microscopic 1.17 ERA with 85 strikeouts across 61.1 innings pitched in 2024.
The Angels will hope Yates returns to All-Star form in 2026, as the Dodgers will expect the same from Scott (who struggled all last season). The crosstown rivals lost Kenley Jansen in free agency this winter, but will now welcome another former Dodgers reliever in Yates.
Yates will be back at Dodger Stadium on March 23 when the defending champions take on the Halos in a spring training matchup; however, he will be donning a new uniform.
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Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
