Scott and Yates had been arguably the 2 greatest free agent relievers, at the least for the upcoming season. The 37-year-old Yates (38 in March) was by no means going to match the three-year phrases for Jeff Hoffman and Clay Holmes, however he’s coming off the very best platform season within the reduction class. He turned in a sterling 1.17 ERA whereas putting out almost 36% of batters confronted for the Rangers. Yates went 33-34 on save alternatives whereas firing 61 2/3 innings — the second-highest workload of his profession.
Emmanuel Clase was the one reliever in MLB who was definitively higher. Yates completed second behind Clase in ERA amongst relievers with 50-plus innings. He was seventh in strikeout proportion. Yates positioned within the prime 25 in swinging strike charge (15.2%). Opponents had no success towards both his 93 mph fastball or his mid-80s splitter.
That was Yates’ second completely dominant season. As a member of the Padres in 2019, he led MLB with 41 saves whereas delivering a 1.19 ERA throughout 60 2/3 frames. His subsequent three years had been primarily worn out by damage, as he battled elbow points and underwent his second profession Tommy John process in March 2021. He returned to throw 60 1/3 innings of three.28 ERA ball for the Braves in 2023 earlier than signing a $4.5M take care of Texas final winter.
Yates turns into the ninth free agent reliever of this offseason to signal for at the least $10M yearly (not together with swingman Nick Martinez, who accepted a qualifying provide from Cincinnati). He trails solely Scott in common wage, although that’s clearly largely as a result of his age restricted him to 1 12 months.
The Dodgers are effectively into the best luxurious tax tier and pay a 110% tax on any spending at this level. They’re investing $27.3M so as to add Yates to the again of the bullpen for a 12 months. RosterResource calculates their luxury-tax ledger round $382M — greater than $70M greater than another membership’s projected payroll.
Los Angeles will presumably announce the signing inside the subsequent day or two, which would require a 40-man roster transfer. That may very well be a easy DFA, although it’s additionally potential they commerce from their bullpen. They’re planning to run a six-man rotation, which implies they will solely carry seven relievers.
Scott, Yates, Treinen, Kopech, Phillips and Vesia appear locked into six spots. Neither Anthony Banda nor Ryan Brasier could be optioned, so one in every of them would most likely be squeezed out if everybody’s wholesome on Opening Day. USA Immediately’s Bob Nightengale reported final week that the Dodgers had been marketing Brasier in recognition of the forthcoming roster squeeze.
Bob Nightengale of USA Immediately first reported last week that Yates and the Dodgers had reached a tentative settlement, pending a bodily. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand was first to report that Yates had handed the bodily and signed a one-year deal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first with the $13M assure and $1M in incentives, whereas Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic specified the $500K bonuses at 50 and 55 appearances.
