The New York Yankees are not above taking a chance,
especially in their bullpen, and the team is taking another chance this season
with Kirby Yates. Yates was recently acquired by New York from the Cleveland
Indians in a deal that saw cash considerations go back to Cleveland. Yates will
presumably fight for and win a spot in the Yankees bullpen this spring although
the possibility of starting the season down in Triple-A with the Scranton
RailRiders is always there. Either way Yates is the newest member of the
Yankees organization and the Yankees family so we here at The Greedy Pinstripes
will welcome him the best way we know how. This is Meet a Prospect: The Kirby
Yates Edition.
Kirby Kali Yates was born on March 25, 1987 and joined his
brother Tyler Yates on their goal of playing in Major League Baseball. Both
have made it to the big show and both have taken significantly different paths.
Kirby was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 26th round of the
2005 Major League Baseball First Year Players Draft out of Kauai High School in
Lihue, Hawaii. Yates did not sign and ultimately attended Yavapai College where
he missed both the 2006 and 2007 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
With this knowledge in the back of many teams and scouts heads Yates went
undrafted in the 2009 MLB Draft.
Yates signed a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays to begin his
professional career and almost immediately rewarded the team with a Triple-A
All-Star Game nomination in 2013. This earned Yates the opportunity to be added
to the team’s 40 man roster on November 20, 2013 and set him up to make his
Major League debut on June 7, 2014.
Yates stuck around with the Rays through the 2015 season
before the team ultimately designated him for assignment and traded him to the
Cleveland Indians for cash considerations. Yates was not long for Cleveland
though after undergoing the same treatment with the Indians. Another
designation for assignment and another trade for cash considerations, this time
to the New York Yankees. Kirby and his fiancée Ashley Rowe will now look to
stick in the Bronx with the big league Yankees and not suffer the same fate
three times in an offseason.
Welcome to the organization Kirby and welcome to the family.
Aloha.
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)