Yankees’ Yates: From the Garden Isle to the Big Apple

ARLINGTON, TEXAS >> Kirby Yates loves being a New York Yankee, and why shouldn’t he?

Yates, 29, landed in New York in January via a trade with the Cleveland Indians, who had acquired him in November 2015 from the Tampa Bay Rays, the team he debuted for and made 61 relief appearances for over parts of two seasons.

Once joining the Yankees, he pitched well enough in spring training to earn a spot on the Yankees’ opening-day roster in their bullpen.

“It’s kind of like a bucket list thing,” Yates said during a recent road trip to Texas. “You get to tell your grandkids, your kids or whatever I made the opening-day roster for the Yankees. With the way the offseason went with bouncing around and being on three different teams, it’s just gratifying to land here and be able to participate in an opening day, have those memories and be able to share them with other people.”

Thus far in 2016, Yates has appeared in seven games and is 0-0 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP over 71⁄3 innings. The Lihue native has only been a Yankee for a short time, but he’s already made quite a first impression on longtime New York manager Joe Girardi.

“He’s brought a veteran presence, consistency,” Girardi said. “I can bring him in against right-handers or left-handers. He’s done a good job for us. We’ve stretched him out to two innings, but he’s done a good job.”

Yates has traveled a winding road to reach New York and is grateful to be a Yankee, but he’s also honored to follow in the footsteps of older brother Tyler, who once pitched across town for the New York Mets.

“It’s crazy,” Yates said of following his brother to New York. “It’s obviously pretty neat. I remember it very well when he was pitching. I always listened to him talk about it and saying how it was a little different with the things you got to deal with.”

And since his older brother, now a police officer in Hawaii, had already experienced what it was like to play in New York, Yates knew exactly what to expect when he became a Yankee. Not only is he following Tyler in the Big Apple, Yates is also just the fourth Hawaii native to play for the Bronx Bombers, another distinction he takes great pride in.

“The support from Kauai and back home is awesome,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many phone calls and text messages and stuff I get saying how proud people are of me and stuff like that. I appreciate all of that, I really do.”

Forever grateful for the opportunity the Yankees provided him to play for such a fabled franchise, Yates also will never forget his time with the Rays, who signed him in 2009 as an undrafted free agent. After several years in the Rays organization, he made his major league debut in June 2014.

“They’re the only team that gave me a chance to play professional baseball,” Yates said of the Rays. “They took a chance on me. I owe them a lot. I learned a lot from that organization. They helped me a lot along the way to become the pitcher I am now. I’m a Yankee. I appreciate being a Yankee, but I’ll always appreciate what the Rays did for me.”

But like many who have worn the fabled pinstripes, he admits there is a certain mystique about being a Yankee.

“It’s been absolutely awesome,” Yates said. “You see it from the other side, playing against them and stuff and just wondering how it is over there and how well they take care of you.

“Now being a part of it and understanding how well they take care of you, it’s unbelievable.”