The Arizona Diamondbacks are among six teams in the running to sign 2019 MLB All-Star and free agent reliever Kirby Yates, reports The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
The news indicates Arizona is swinging big in attempting to restock its bullpen coming off a league-worst 52-110 season.
Yates led all of MLB with 41 saves in 2019 for the San Diego Padres but in March underwent a second Tommy John surgery, which surely will dictate the cost of his next deal.
Rosenthal adds that Yates is seeking a two-year contract.
Yates posted a 2.55 ERA and 1.002 WHIP over nearly four years in San Diego (2017-19). He had a 1.19 ERA in 60 games during his last season with the Padres in 2019 before he required surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow.
He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays before the 2021 season and after a few appearances in spring was shut down and then forced to have his second Tommy John procedure.
Arizona as a team posted the second-worst ERA (5.11) as a staff last season, and its relievers were one of two teams with a negative Wins Above Replacement score (-1.2).
The Diamondbacks’ bullpen ERA was a third-worst 5.08, according to FanGraphs.