The Los Angeles Angels have signed veteran former Dodgers reliever Kirby Yates to a one-year contract.

According to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman’s report today, right-handed reliever Kirby Yates has reached a one-year, $5 million agreement with the Los Angeles Angels. The team has yet to officially announce the deal, initially reported by Ari Alexander from 7News Boston.

At 38 years old, Yates is another experienced bullpen arm the Angels have added during this offseason, following the one-year signings of Jordan Romano and Drew Pomeranz on December 16. He also represents another player the Angels hope will rebound in form. Yates endured a challenging season recently but has enjoyed significant success throughout his 11-year career.

Yates joins a group of promising talents the Angels have signed this offseason, including right-handers Alek Manoah and Grayson Rodriguez, as well as versatile player Vaughn Grissom. After finalizing a contract restructuring with Anthony Rendon today for the last year of his deal, the Angels have gained more financial flexibility for further roster improvements.

Yates’s 2025 season was a mix of highs and lows. After signing a one-year, $12 million contract with the Dodgers, he went on the injured list three times and finished the regular season with a 5.23 ERA. Although he remained with the team through the postseason, he was never included on the playoff roster.

On the positive side, Yates earned a World Series championship ring. Additionally, some of his advanced metrics—such as a 35.3% whiff rate and a 29.1% strikeout rate—offer hope as he approaches his age-39 season in 2026. He will need to cut down on home runs allowed; last year, he gave up nine homers over 41.1 innings pitched.

Yates’s dominant 2024 season with the Rangers is still fresh in mind. That year, he was an American League All-Star, posting a 1.17 ERA over 61.2 innings, striking out 85 batters and recording 33 saves. Considering it was only his second full season after Tommy John surgery, his performance was especially remarkable.

This signing reunites Yates with pitching coach Mike Maddux, who joined Angels manager Kurt Suzuki’s coaching staff after serving three years as the Rangers’ pitching coach.

Yates’s journey to pitching at this level is extraordinary. More than 15 years have passed since he graduated from Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona, going undrafted and spending much of his collegiate career recovering from his first Tommy John surgery in 2006. (The Hawaii native was selected in the 26th round of the 2005 draft by the Red Sox but did not sign.)

Shortly after the 2009 draft, Yates signed with the Rays but didn’t make his major league debut until five years later, at age 27. After stints with the Rays, Yankees, and Angels, he found a home with the Padres—who acquired him via waiver from the Angels in 2017. At age 32 in 2019, he fully blossomed, earning his first All-Star selection and leading the majors with a 1.19 ERA and 41 saves.

Over the next three seasons, Yates appeared in only 15 games, undergoing right elbow bone spur removal surgery in 2020 and a second Tommy John surgery in 2021. However, he bounced back in 2023 with the Warriors, posting a 3.28 ERA, and later returned to the All-Star stage with the Rangers.

Yates has accumulated 98 career saves and, if he regains form, could once again be a candidate for closer. With Kenley Jansen having left the Angels via free agency, the team has not designated a fixed closer; right-handers Ben Joyce and Robert Stephenson are internal options. Romano is another possibility, despite struggles in 2024 and 2025, as he holds 113 career saves and was an All-Star while with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022 and 2023.