The D-backs have been in the market for quality help all offseason, and are among the clubs interested in the right fielder. Kirby Yatesby Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The Snakes explored several options on the trade market but fell short of the asking price Devin Williams – as they traded to the Yankees – and their interest in the Cardinals stopper Ryan Helsley may be heard if St. Louis finally chose to hold him.
Arizona manager Mike Hazen left no doubt about his team’s desire to add a shutdown option this offseason. “I still feel like a bull in the back that I can help with [Justin Martinez] and with [A.J. Puk] and those guys, I can still see that,” Hazen said when he left the radio station in early November. “I thought about when [Paul Sewald] we were closing, with the best version of who we are, frankly. … But, we know [Martinez and Puk] he can close, too, so we’ll see.
Yates, who turns 38 in March, is coming off a strong bounce-back campaign with the Rangers, in which he saved 33 games while pitching to a 1.17 ERA in 61 2/3 career innings. Yates earned his second career All-Star nod, striking out 35.9% of the opponents he faced, and issuing walks at a 9.6% clip (higher than average but usually offset by a sharp strikeout rate).
The 2024 season was Yates’ second straight year with 60-plus innings, but injuries have hampered the righty at various points in his career. He has thrown just 11 1/3 major league innings since 2020-22; he was limited to six appearances in 2020 due to an elbow injury – an injury that required Tommy John surgery the following year in 2021 (his second TJS surgery). That process ended his entire 2021 season and most of his 2022 campaign.
When healthy, Yates has been a late-season breakout option in recent years. He is the epitome of a late bloomer, as he didn’t really establish himself as a major league reliever until his age-30 season and didn’t fully shine until his age-31 campaign with the Padres, in 2018. that streak, Yates has an impressive 2.21 ERA with 93 saves, 30 holds, a 35.5% strikeout rate and a 10% walk rate.
Yates would (obviously) fit the Diamondbacks’ desire to find a bona fide shortstop at the end of the bullpen. The question is whether it will fit into the budget. After last year’s good showing, he’s in a position to command an eight-figure salary, maybe even more than a multi-year contract if the team isn’t afraid to give two years to the 38-year-old who needs double UCL surgery.
Hazen said in the aforementioned radio appearance that he expects payroll to be in the $173MM range by 2025. RosterResource currently projects the Diamondbacks payroll at $160MM. Yates could command a lot or perhaps all of the remaining budget, although it remains possible that some trades will affect the payroll. The D-backs have received trade interest in their young outfielders and in their starting rotation. The club still hopes to spend at least half of the $22.5MM it is owed Jordan Montgomery.
A multi-year contract for Yates would be almost unprecedented for a reliever of this age. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the only free agent releases in the past decade have signed multi-year deals since their age-38 season Jason Grilli again Darren O’Dayboth signed for $8MM or less. The only true pitcher comp of this age that commands a multi-year deal at a premium price Daniel Barda two-year, $19MM extension with the Rockies back in July 2022 — a deal that apparently fell through.
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