The Texas Rangers in their maybe-still-ongoing pursuit to fine-tune their bullpen have missed out on a prime target.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Cross that name off the list. And it’s a big one.
The Texas Rangers in their maybe-still-ongoing pursuit to fine-tune their bullpen have missed out on a prime target: Kirby Yates, Texas’ lockdown closer in 2024, is reportedly signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Yates’ deal with the Dodgers is pending a physical, per multiple reports Tuesday morning.
There had been chatter that the Rangers had viewed Yates as one of their top offseason targets, in addition to bringing back starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and bolstering their lineup. They took care of those latter items by signing Eovaldi and designated hitter Joc Pederson and trading for corner infielder Jake Burger.
But the Yates deal apparently couldn’t come together, and if the Dodgers were in the mix, then well, that’s a challenging team to go against.
Yates will join the defending World Series champions who have spent the offseason re-loading once again, namely by signing Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki.
But Yates could be as big of piece for the Dodgers in the short-term; he was excellent in 2024 for the Rangers after battling injury in recent seasons.
Last year, Yates converted 33-of-34 save opportunities with a 1.17 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 61.2 innings. He earned All-Star honors for the second time in his career and finished eighth in the American League Cy Young voting.
While Yates’ strong season somewhat went under the radar due to the Rangers’ inconsistencies, he would have slipped back into the closer’s role for Texas in 2025. Instead, he’ll take his services to Los Angeles.
Depending on how much more Texas wants to spend without hitting the luxury tax threshold, the Rangers could still be in the mix to re-sign reliever David Robertson, who was also solid in late innings in 2024.
Robertson, 39, remains unsigned for 2025. He mostly served as Yates’ eighth-inning setup man, throwing 72 innings with a 3.00 ERA.
The Rangers have added Shawn Armstrong, Robert Garcia, Hoby Milner, Chris Martin and Jacob Webb to the bullpen this offseason.