The Pittsburgh Pirates have re-signed reliever Tyler Yates, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. This is a minor league contract, and presumably includes an invite to Spring Training, similar to when the Pirates re-signed Yates last year.
They first acquired the right handed reliever in 2008, in a trade with the Atlanta Braves prior to the season. Yates went down with an elbow injury in May 2009, and underwent Tommy John surgery in July of that year. The Pirates let him go, but re-signed him to a minor league deal last off-season, paying him $300,000 in the minors, and $975,000 in the majors. He was expected back by mid-season, but ended up missing the entire year.
I’d expect the terms of this year’s deal to be the same. He will likely get a shot at the bullpen out of Spring Training, assuming he’s healthy, and will serve as depth out of AAA. Yates is a hard thrower, but his big problem has been a lack of control, with a career 4.9 BB/9 ratio.
