A retirement announcement is usually a headline in itself. Most retirements come with fanfare. But Yates’ came with a final pitch on Saturday at Comerica Park and therefore became more than just another late-season game, as the Pittsburgh Pirates veteran quietly turned his 518th appearance into his last.
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On a day when both teams watched a starting pitcher bid farewell to baseball, Yates created his own goodbye. The veteran reliever followed Justin Verlander into the final chapter, pitching one and two-thirds innings before announcing his retirement and bringing an end to a career that featured a 3.35 ERA. And perhaps the most fitting part? Before Saturday, his 517 previous appearances had all come without a start for Pittsburgh, the longest such stretch by a Pirate in the Modern Era since 1901.
“Following today’s game, Kirby Yates announced his retirement after 12 Major League seasons spent with the Rays, Yankees, Angels, Padres, Braves, Rangers, Dodgers and Pirates. He was a 2x All-Star and led the league in saves (41) in 2019,” MLB shared via X.
A 12-year MLB career across 8 teams is what defines Kirby Yates. “This is it,” Yates said. “Just didn’t really want to say anything publicly before, until the end. It was great. It was an awesome day. Really cool thing to kind of be a part of, especially what’s going on on the other side. Seeing emotions on both sides was something you don’t forget. It was a good day.”
He originally went undrafted out of Yavapai College before signing with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009. He spent five years grinding through the minor leagues, finally making his MLB debut in 2014 at the age of 27. Until 2016, he worked primarily as a middle-relief option with the Rays and the Yankees.
Joining the Padres in 2018, Yates perfected a devastating splitter that transformed him into one of baseball’s most feared relievers. During this dominant stretch, the pitch generated a staggering 53% swing rate and an elite 35% whiff rate!
The Dodgers faced Yates’ nastiest splitters in a 2019 series just before the All-Star break. On one Friday, with the game hanging in the balance, Yates was called upon exceptionally early in the 8th inning. He navigated the final 1.2 frames to secure his first career five-out save. He proceeded to save all three games of that final first-half series, closing out the Dodgers in all three games of the series.
After joining the Padres mid-2018, Yates took over the closer role when Brad Hand was traded, logging a 2.14 ERA in 63 innings. However, despite leading the league with 41 saves in 2019, his dominance was short-lived. Elbow chips limited him to just six games in 2020. After signing a one-year deal with the Blue Jays for 2021, he suffered a flexor strain in spring training and underwent his second career Tommy John surgery, missing the entire season without throwing a single pitch for Toronto.
Yates fought his way back to full health by 2023, turning in a strong bounce-back season for Atlanta by appearing in 61 games with a 3.28 ERA. He still had the gas left to accelerate. Yates spent the 2025 season pitching for the Dodgers. Though he struggled relative to his standard (5.23 ERA), he was awarded a World Series championship ring as part of the Dodgers’ title run.
Yates signed a one-year deal to return full circle to the Angels for the 2026 season. After pitching productively through mid-season, he was traded to the Pirates in August. He posted a solid 3.19 overall ERA this season before announcing his retirement on Saturday. “I don’t have anything left, let’s put it that way,” Yates added. “I’ve been running on fumes here for a while.”
MLB will miss one more veteran arm down the innings from the next season. We still hope that Kirby Yates stays connected with the diamond, albeit in a different capacity.