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Kirby Yates

Roster Notes: Kim, Bailey, Frieri, Arencibia, Venable, Sabathia, Miller

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We’ve already covered a number of roster decisions already this evening, but more keep rolling in. Here are some of the latest:

  • The Orioles announced a number of moves, including the demotion of infielder Paul Janish. That could open the door to an Opening Day roster spot for Hyun Soo Kim, as Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com explains (Twitter links). Kim has continued to maintain that he will not accept a minor league assignment, as is his contractual right, despite a rough spring. Only Xavier Avery appears to remain an obstacle to a roster spot for Kim, as the team’s 29 remaining players in camp include three who are bound for the DL.
  • The Phillies have announced that veteran relievers Andrew Bailey and Ernesto Frieri were reassigned to minor league camp along with catcher J.P. Arencibia and outfielder Will Venable. That lends clarity to the team’s Opening Day roster. Bailey reportedly has a May 1 opt-out date, while Frieri apparently allowed his own to pass yesterday without action. Venable had seemed lined up for a job after signing late in camp, but the Phils will apparently give roster spots to non-roster invitees Cedric Hunter and Emmanuel Burriss, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki notes on Twitter. Fellow minor league signee James Russell also appears to have earned an Opening Day nod. The club is also set to give a shot to its two Rule 5 picks — outfielder Tyler Goeddel and lefty Daniel Stumpf.
  • CC Sabathia has beaten out Ivan Nova for the Yankees’ fifth starter role, manager Joe Girardi told reporters incluing Wallace Mathews of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). That appears to put Nova in the pen for now, where he’ll also serve as a swingman option. The Yanks will give their final pen job to righty Kirby Yates, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network (via Twitter). Yates was acquired for cash over the winter, and impressed this spring, though he might not have had a slot had it not been for an unfortunate injury to Bryan Mitchell. Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog had noted yesterday on Twitter that Yates was a prime candidate to take over for Mitchell, while adding that Luis Cessa and Johnny Barbato were also slated to join the active roster for the season’s start.
  • Fortunately for the Yankees, it appears they won’t have to replace lefty Andrew Miller on Opening Day. Miller has been cleared to pitch despite suffering a fracture to his non-pitching hand, as Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News reports. Miller, who’ll hold down closing duties while Aroldis Chapman is out, is not expected to require surgery and will apparently be able to proceed as normal so long as he can tolerate the injury.

Yankees Acquire Kirby Yates From Indians

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1:35pm: The Indians have announced the trade.  According to the Associated Press, the Yankees paid Cleveland $78K for Yates.

1:25pm: The Yankees have acquired right-hander Kirby Yates from the Indians in exchange for cash considerations, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network (via Twitter). Yates had been designated for assignment by the Indians earlier this week. Cleveland had originally acquired him from the Rays earlier this offseason.

Yates, 29 in March, enjoyed a solid rookie campaign in 2014 when he logged a 3.75 ERA with a robust 10.5 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. He couldn’t replicate that in his age-28 season, however, due largely to an incredible amount of home runs allowed. Yates is an extreme fly-ball pitcher, but nearly one third of the balls put in the air against him left the yard this past season (30.3 percent). Extreme fly-ball pitcher or not, that rate is nearly unheard of and is almost certain to regress in the future. However, the poor results left Yates with a 7.97 ERA due to yielding 10 homers in 20 1/3 innings. That skill-set and the homer-friendly confines of Yankee Stadium would seem to be a dangerous combination, although Yates’ track record of missing bats is enticing, and homers were never a problem for him throughout his minor league career.

Because the Yankees’ 40-man roster was only at 37 players prior to the acquisition of Yates, a corresponding move is not necessary in order to clear a roster spot.

Indians Designate Kirby Yates

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The Indians have designated righty Kirby Yates for assignment, per a club announcement (via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, on Twitter). His roster spot was needed for Mike Napoli, whose signing was made official today.

Yates, 28, was acquired from the Rays for cash earlier this winter. He has still yet to pitch for another organization. The righty surrendered a remarkable 30.3% HR/FB rate (and 18 earned runs) in his 20 1/3 MLB frames last year. There’s almost certainly some poor luck baked in there — he’s shown a propensity for the flyball in the majors, but has never allowed double-digit homers in a minor league season — but it’s certainly an issue he’ll need to overcome.

That being said, there’s a reason that Cleveland added Yates in the first place, and he figures to get another shot at the bigs at some point. After all, he’s long registered double-digit strikeout-per-nine rates in the minors and tossed 36 frames of 3.75 ERA ball in 2014, with 10.5 K/9 vs. 3.8 BB/9.

Indians Acquire Kirby Yates, Designate Michael Choice

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The Indians have acquired recently designated right-hander Kirby Yates from the Rays in exchange for cash considerations and designated outfielder Michael Choice for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster, tweets MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian.

Yates, 29 in March, enjoyed a solid rookie campaign in 2014 when he logged a 3.75 ERA with a robust 10.5 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. He couldn’t replicate that in his age-28 season, however, due largely to an incredible amount of home runs allowed. Yates is an extreme fly-ball pitcher, but nearly one third of the balls put in the air against him left the yard this past season (30.3 percent). Extreme fly-ball pitcher or not, that rate is nearly unheard of and is almost certain to regress in the future. However, the poor results left Yates with a 7.97 ERA due to yielding 10 homers in 20 1/3 innings.

Choice is a former top 100 prospect with the A’s that never fully panned out. Traded by Oakland to the Rangers in exchange for Craig Gentry, Choice batted just .188/.253/.320 in parts of three seasons between the two teams. Texas designated him for assignment this winter before Cleveland claimed him off waivers. Choice is a career .271/.356/.426 hitter in parts of three seasons at Triple-A and is still relatively young, having turned 26 just two weeks ago.

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