The Los Angeles Dodgers lost another member of their 2025 World Series championship team. 

Veteran right-handed reliever Kirby Yates chose to write another chapter in his rollercoaster ride of a career as he agreed to a one-year, $5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday.

For Yates, it’s a short drive down the freeway and a long walk back toward relevance.

At 38, Yates becomes the latest experienced arm the Angels have pulled into their bullpen orbit this winter, joining Jordan Romano and Drew Pomeranz as part of a calculated gamble on upside, health, and memory. This front office isn’t chasing perfection. It’s chasing flickers — flashes of what once made these pitchers feared when the ball mattered most.

And Yates, even after a bruising 2025 season with the Dodgers, still flickers.

Last season was a grind for Yates. He signed a one-year, $12 million deal to help fortify the backend of the Dodgers championship bullpen, but instead he struggled throughout the season, making three trips to the injured list before being removed from the roster ahead of the playoffs. 

Yates never pitched in October, but became a mentor to many of the young pitchers in the Dodgers bullpen. He finished the year with a 5.23 ERA. 

Yet even in that disappointment, there were whispers of life. A 35.3% whiff rate. A 29.1% strikeout rate. The stuff, at least in flashes, still looked like it remembered who it once was.

And he still walked away with a World Series ring, and one unforgettable Kirby tattoo. 

For the Angels, that’s enough to believe.

Undrafted out of Yavapai College. Rehab instead of recognition. Two Tommy John surgeries. A debut at 27. Years of bouncing between organizations. Then, suddenly, at 32, he became one of the most dominant closers in baseball. In 2019 with the Padres, Yates led MLB with 41 saves and posted a 1.19 ERA, earning his first All-Star nod and rewriting his own ceiling.

The fall came swiftly after. Bone chips. More surgery. Just 15 appearances over three seasons. Careers usually end there — quietly, without ceremony.

Yates refused.

He resurfaced with the Braves in 2023, then roared back into the national conversation with the Rangers in 2024, earning another All-Star selection while posting a 1.17 ERA, striking out 85 batters, and collecting 33 saves. It was a resurrection that felt almost mythic — a pitcher rising again, stitched together by will and memory.

Now he lands with an Angels bullpen in flux.

With Kenley Jansen gone, there is no set closer. Ben Joyce brings raw electricity. Robert Stephenson offers steadiness. Romano has pedigree, even if recent seasons have dimmed his shine. And Yates? He has 98 career saves and the scars of someone who understands the ninth inning’s weight.

If he can limit the long ball — nine homers allowed in just over 41 innings last season — there’s a path here. Not guaranteed. Not easy. But visible. The Angels may have found their new closer, and the Dodgers willingly say goodbye to a player that never lived up to his potential, but still helped the team become back-to-back World Series Champions.