The pitcher who is fast becoming the best closer in the National League — if he’s not already — was once a Yankee.
Kirby Yates — who picked up his NL-leading 20th save in the San Diego Padres’ 5-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday — had a limited stint in The Bronx in 2016. Yates, who came to San Diego as a 2017 waiver claim, was a nondescript 2-1 with a 5.23 ERA in 41 1/3 innings pitched during his time with the Yankees in 2016.
He developed a nasty splitter, became the closer of the Padres in the summer of 2018 and has thrived in the role.