The Boston Red Sox still need a leverage arm and another talented reliever just came off the free agent market.
And in the end, the rich got richer.
The Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly struck a deal with veteran reliever Kirby Yates on a one-year contract worth $13 million, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
Yates put together an exceptional season with the Texas Rangers in 2024 to the tune of a 1.17 ERA and struck out 12.4 batters per nine innings for his second-career All-Star selection. The Red Sox still seek another backend reliever to join leverage arms Liam Hendriks, Justin Slaten and Aroldis Chapman along with Garrett Whitlock as a multi-inning option.
The Dodgers won the World Series and took their bullpen to another level this winter with Yates and Tanner Scott joining the unit along with retained righty Blake Treinen. That’s on top of additions in Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell, Teoscar Hernandez and Michael Conforto. They’re all set to wear Dodger blue in 2025 in hopes of a third title since 2020.
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The Red Sox made impact starting pitching additions in Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler. Boston still needs a right-handed bat and a late-inning reliever to finish off the roster to truly contend in 2025.
