Tigers interested in Kirby Yates

Right Kirby Yates he is one of the best relievers available in free agency. The Cubs have already been linked to him via rumors and now KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander reports that the Tigers may be added to the list.

Yates, 38 in March, has just completed an excellent season with the Rangers. He has pitched 61 2/3 innings this year, allowing just 1.17 earned runs per nine. He certainly got some help from a .168 batting average on balls in play and an 88.1% strand rate, both positives, but also adjusted numbers like his 2.50 FIP and 2.85 SIERA suggests he would have fared well even with less favor from the baseball gods.

His 11.1% walk rate was high, but he countered by striking out 35.9% of batters faced and keeping 45.5% of balls in play on the ground. He took over the closer role for Texas, earning 33 saves on the year.

Despite this strong performance, Yates will be limited in the type of contract he can get. This is due to both his age and his injury history. He pitched next to nothing during 2020 through 2022, mostly due to Tommy John surgery, the second such procedure of his career. He bounced back in 2023 with a solid but not dominant season, posting a 3.28 ERA with a 31.5% strikeout rate, a 14.6% walk rate and a 36% ground ball percentage ,4%.

Taking these factors into account, Yates will likely seek a one-year deal this winter. Earlier in the offseason, MLBTR had him scheduled for a one-year pact with a $14 million guarantee as part of our annual Top 50 Free Agents post.

The Tigers may have some leeway on the budget and appear to want to avoid long-term deals. Last week it was reported that they wanted to maintain their potential, starting to propose signing one- or two-year deals, then signed a 37-year contract Alex Cobb to a one-year contract. If they have a similar mindset to upgrade their bullpen, then Yates makes a lot of sense.

RosterResource expects its payroll to be just $95 million for next year. This is roughly in line with last year’s payroll, but has been much higher in the past. For Cot’s Baseball Contracts, they had a $200 million payroll in 2017 alone. That was the year owner Mike Ilitch died and the club hasn’t been in that range since Mike’s son Christopher took over. However, the Tigers brought payroll up to $135 million in 2022, when they thought their rebuild was finished. That ultimately wasn’t the case, but they ultimately reached the postseason in 2024 for the first time in a decade.

The Tigers currently have it Beau Brieske, Jason Foley AND Tyler Holton like some of their more interesting relievers, but none of that group reached 200 MLB innings pitched or celebrated a 30th birthday. Almost any club in the majors could add someone like Yates and move everyone else down the pecking order, but perhaps that’s especially true in Detroit where there aren’t many guys cemented.