Veteran right-hander Kirby Yates announced his retirement this afternoon following the Pirates’ 4-3 walk-off loss to the Tigers in Detroit. In a game that featured Justin Verlander’s final career start for the Tigers, the Pirates opted for a bullpen game, and manager Don Kelly gave Yates the nod as the opener. It was the first “start” of his big league career after 517 appearances as a reliever. Yates recorded five outs, including a strikeout of Dillon Dingler, before being lifted for Yohan Ramírez.
“It was good, but this was it …” Yates told reporters after the game (link via SportsNet Pittsburgh). “I don’t have anything left. Let’s put it that way. I’ve been running on fumes for a while. I think it’s just time. It’s felt like it’s been time for a little while now. I think I’ve given this game everything I have, and in return, it’s given me more than I can ever thank it for or imagine.”
Yates signed with the Rays in 2009 as an undrafted free agent. He reached the Majors in 2014 as a 27-year-old and delivered a decent 3.75 earned run average in 36 innings, working off a low-90s fastball and a low-80s slider to strike out 26.9% of opponents. Yates struggled to a 6.13 ERA over the next two years with the Rays and Yankees but found something of a groove with the Padres in 2017. In 61 appearances for the Friars, the righty struck out a dominant 38.5% of opponents against an 8.4% walk rate and a 3.72 ERA. Around that time, Yates began to move away from his slider in favor of a mid-80s splitter, which would later become his signature pitch.
The 2018-19 seasons saw Yates at his best. He threw 123 2/3 innings in that stretch with a 38.7% strikeout rate, a 6.1% walk rate, and a 45.2% ground ball rate, all while holding opponents to 1.67 earned runs per nine. Yates’ 32.7% K-BB rate ranked third among qualified relievers in that stretch. He also tallied 53 saves, including 41 in an utterly dominant 2019 season that saw Yates deliver a 1.19 ERA, make the first of two career All-Star Games, and even earn some down-ballot Cy Young votes. FanGraphs valued him at 5.2 wins above replacement from 2018-19, the highest among qualified relievers.
Yates’ tenure with the Padres ended on a down note, as bone chips in his throwing elbow limited him to six appearances in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He signed a one-year deal with the Blue Jays for 2021, but he blew out his elbow in Spring Training and underwent his second Tommy John surgery (the first coming while he was in college). He missed all of 2021 and most of 2022 while rehabbing from that procedure.
Yates made it back to a big league mound in August 2022 with the Braves and made nine appearances the rest of the way. He followed that with a decent, but not great 2023 season. Yates struck out over 30% of opponents and topped 60 innings for the third time in his career, but his 14.6% walk rate was a career high in a full season, leading to a 3.28 ERA but a less impressive 4.49 expected number.
He returned to form in 2024 as the Rangers’ closer. In 61 appearances that year, the now 37-year-old Yates held opponents to a 1.17 ERA while recording a 35.9% strikeout rate and 33 saves in 34 chances. The walks were still high but much more manageable, and Yates ultimately earned his second All-Star nomination for his efforts. He struggled with the Dodgers in 2025 but fared decently with the Angels earlier this year. The Pirates picked him up at the trade deadline, and Yates rewarded them with 15 innings of 1.80 ERA ball, including his work today.
Altogether, Yates pitched 495 career innings with a 3.35 ERA, a 32.7% strikeout rate, and 101 saves. He combined for 7.0 fWAR and 8.9 bWAR over parts of 12 big league seasons and picked up $48.5MM in total earnings according to Baseball Reference. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Yates on a fine career and wish him the best in whatever comes next.
Photos courtesy of Brian Bradshaw Sevald, Imagn Images, and Charles LeClaire, USA TODAY Sports
