THE TEXAS RANGERS AGREED WITH $750 DEAL WIT.

Rangers and pitcher Kirby Yates reach a one-year agreement.

A gifted and productive reliever from the Atlanta Braves was signed by the Texas Rangers, who could quickly improve their pitching staff.

After defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in the previous season, the Texas Rangers won their first World Series as a franchise. Now that manager Bruce Bochy’s team is making progress toward a repeat, most analysts believe a recent addition is a good one.

The Rangers are reportedly hot on the trail of a 27-year-old relief pitcher who is a fireball. The Rangers’ rumored pursuit of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani was considered extremely complex.

The Rangers formally declared on Thursday night that they would be honoring Kirby Yates, a former Atlanta Braves All-Star who was brought in to strengthen the team’s pitching staff.

Yates faced a contending Braves team in Atlanta the previous season, pitching 60.1 innings and striking out 80 batters. Yates, who is 5-foot-10 and weighs 205 pounds, is a native of Lihue, Hawaii, and he brings a bulldog mentality with him.

Yates throws right, bats left. Yates, who is 36 years old, has occasionally switched to the closer position and recorded five saves for the Braves bullpen in 2024.

Yates joins the Rangers, who under veteran manager Bochy have a talented but ultimately far from elite pitching staff. With a team ERA of 4.28, the Rangers placed 18th in Major League Baseball last season—one spot behind the Detroit Tigers and one spot ahead of the New York Mets.

The Rangers’ pitching staff led the team to a World Series championship, and the team finished fifth in postseason ERA.

Texas’ chances of making a deep run in the playoffs should improve if they can make more offseason moves similar to this one to strengthen the pitching staff.