The Pittsburgh Pirates continued to add to their bullpen on Monday evening, acquiring right-handed pitcher Kirby Yates from Los Angeles (AL), in exchange for right-handed pitcher Kyle Robinson.
The 39-year-old Yates posted three saves, a 3.95 ERA (27.1ip/12er), 36 strikeouts and a .202 batting average against (20-for-99) in his 31 appearances with the Angels this season.
The native of Lihue, Hawaii, has held right-handed hitters to a .155 batting average (9-for-58) and a .432 OPS this season. He posted the ninth-lowest OPS against and the 11th-lowest batting average against among American League relievers during his time with the Angels this year (minimum 50 at-bats).
Yates, who was originally signed by Tampa Bay as a non-drafted free agent on June 19, 2009, has gone a combined 30-29 with 101 saves, a 3.39 ERA (480.0ip/181er), 659 strikeouts and a .201 batting average against in 503 career regular-season games split between Tampa Bay (2014-15), New York-AL (2016), Los Angeles-AL (2017, 2026), San Diego (2017-20), Atlanta (2022-23), Texas (2024) and Los Angeles-NL (2025).
His 41 saves with San Diego in 2019 led all of Major League Baseball, while his 33 saves with Texas in 2024 ranked third in the American League and seventh in all of Major League Baseball.
Yates also made his lone postseason appearance with Atlanta in 2023, striking out two batters over his 1.0 inning in Game Two of the National League Division Series on October 9 vs. Philadelphia.
A corresponding move to the 40-man roster will be announced at a later time.