Kirby Kali Yates (born March 25, 1987) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2014, and was an All-Star in 2019, when he led the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in saves.

Early career

Yates was drafted by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in the 26th round of the

2005 Major League Baseball draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

out of

Kauai High School Kauai High School is a public high school located in Lihue, Hawaii. It is named after the island Kauai and is a part of the Hawaii Department of Education. Kauaʻi High School serves students from ninth through twelfth grades. It was the first pub ...

Lihue, Hawaii Lihue or Līhue is an unincorporated community, census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. Lihue (pronounced ) is the second largest town on the Hawaiian island of Kauai after Kapaa. As of the 2010 ...

. He did not sign and attended

Yavapai College Yavapai College is a public community college in Yavapai County, Arizona. The main campus is in Prescott, with locations in Clarkdale, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Sedona. History Yavapai College was established in 1965 by means of a c ...

. He missed both the 2006 and 2007 seasons due to

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays

After going undrafted in 2009, Yates signed with the

. In 2012, Yates reached the Double-A level with the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

, where he had a 2.65 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 68 innings over 50 games. Yates was a Triple-A All-Star in 2013, putting up a 1.90 ERA in 51 games for the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

. Yates was added to the Rays 40-man roster on November 20, 2013. Yates was called up to the majors for the first time on June 7, 2014 and made his debut that day. In 37 games, he posted an ERA of 3.75 in 36 innings, striking out 42. The following season he struggled, posting an ERA of 7.97 in innings for the Major League club as he shuttled back and forth between Tampa and Durham. The Rays designated Yates for assignment after the 2015 season.

New York Yankees

On November 25, 2015, the Rays traded Yates to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

for cash considerations. Yates was subsequently designated for assignment on January 5, 2016. On January 8, 2016, the Indians traded Yates to the

in exchange for cash considerations. Yates made the Yankees'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster in 2016. Yates pitched in relief for the Yankees for most of the season, although he was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 28, and then recalled on August 17. In 41 games for the Yankees, he posted an ERA of 5.23 and 50 strikeouts in innings.

Los Angeles Angels

After the 2016 season, the

claimed Yates from the Yankees on waivers. He was designated for assignment on April 2, 2017, after failing to secure a spot in the Angels bullpen during spring training, and he was outrighted from the 40-man roster and sent to the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark op ...

after clearing waivers on April 5. Yates made his Angels debut as a reliever on April 22 against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

but was designated for assignment the next day.

San Diego Padres

On April 26, 2017, Yates was claimed off waivers by the

. He excelled relieving for the Padres, striking out 87 in innings and going 4–5 with a 3.72 ERA in 61 games. Yates credited his success to the development of a

split-finger fastball A split-finger fastball or splitter is an off-speed pitch in baseball that looks to the batter like a fastball until it drops suddenly. Derived from the forkball, it is so named because the pitcher puts the index and middle finger on different ...

in the spring which he began throwing more often with the Padres. In 2018, Yates began the season as the setup man to closer

Brad Hand Bradley Richard Hand (born March 20, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals, Toronto B ...

. He briefly went to the disabled list in early April with an ankle injury, but returned after two weeks. At the trade deadline, the Padres traded Hand, thus handing over the closer role to Yates. He ended the season with a career low 2.14 ERA in 65 appearances. He was 12 for 13 in save opportunities and struck out 90 in 63 innings. In 2019, Yates was selected as the Padres' sole representative at the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

. For the season, he led all major league pitchers in saves, with 41. He also recorded a 1.19 ERA and struck out 101 batters in innings. Yates' 2020 season was cut short due to injury, as he ended the season with only six appearances.

Toronto Blue Jays

On January 20, 2021, Yates signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the

. On March 22, 2021, Yates was diagnosed with a flexor strain and it was later announced that he would likely undergo

, ending his 2021 season. On March 24, 2021, Yates underwent the procedure. He was placed on the 60-day injured list on April 4.

Atlanta Braves

On November 29, 2021, Yates signed a two-year, $8.25 million contract with the

. On July 16, he pitched a perfect inning in the

Florida Complex League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

. It was his first game at any level since August 2020.

International career

At the conclusion of the 2018 season, Yates was selected to represent Major League Baseball at the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series

Personal life

His brother,

Tyler Yates Tyler Kali Yates (born August 7, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Career Oakland Athletics/New York Mets Yates attended ...

, also played in Major League Baseball. Tyler has since been a police officer in Kauai. Yates married his long time girlfriend Ashlee on January 2, 2016. She owns a business that places sitters with professional athlete families, Homerun Sitters LLC. His hobbies include surfing and golfing.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Kirby 1987 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Hawaii Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Durham Bulls players Florida Complex League Braves players Gulf Coast Rays players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Montgomery Biscuits players National League All-Stars New York Yankees players People from Kauai County, Hawaii People from Lihue, Hawaii Phoenix Desert Dogs players Princeton Rays players Salt Lake Bees players San Diego Padres players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Surprise Saguaros players Tampa Bay Rays players Yavapai Roughriders baseball players