The Pirates kept busy right up against the deadline, and Kirby Yates was the final bullpen addition in a flurry of moves that reshaped their relief corps. Pittsburgh got Yates from the Angels in exchange for right-hander Kyle Robinson, capping a Monday that also brought in Camilo Doval, Luke Weaver and Lake Bachar in separate deals.
Robinson’s journey took another turn with this trade. The 23-year-old righty has already been dealt twice this year, first moving from the A’s to the Pirates in May for shortstop Alika Williams.
Since then, he’s worked at three different levels and most recently made five starts in Double-A Altoona’s rotation. Across 85 innings, he has a 4.55 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 34 walks.
At 6-foot-6, Robinson stands out even before he throws a pitch. His arm slot is extremely vertical, and his mix is built around a mid-90s fastball, two breaking balls and a changeup that could become his best bat-misser.
The issue has been consistency to his glove side, and left-handed hitters have had the upper hand against him in two of his three professional seasons. The profile points toward a low-leverage reliever, though one with the ability to cover multiple innings.
Yates, meanwhile, brings a very different look. The 39-year-old works almost entirely with a fastball-splitter mix from a very low arm slot. He’s a two-time All-Star who has bounced around in recent years, but he was effective enough to save 33 games two seasons ago with the Rangers and has posted better numbers this season after a 5.23 ERA with the Dodgers in 2025.
In Other News...
Angels Just Gave Fans A New Reason To Debate The Future
The trade deadline brought a wave of prospect movement across baseball, and the Angels were among the clubs that added to their long-term inventory. In a week when 83 prospects changed hands and 62 of them moved on deadline day, some teams made splashier grabs than others, but the Angels still found a way to come away with a more interesting farm picture than they had going in.
Across the league, the Mets drew the biggest headlines by landing eight Top 30 prospects, while the Orioles, Giants, Tigers and Nationals also boosted their systems in different ways. For the Angels, the larger question is how these additions fit into a broader front-office vision, especially for a fan base that has spent years watching the organization juggle present-day needs with the need to build something more durable behind it. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Give Up On Jo Adell In A Trade That Says Plenty
Jo Adells run with the Angels has been long enough to carry real weight, and the move to Cleveland marks a clear turning point for both sides. The Guardians sent prospect catcher Jacob Cozart to Los Angeles in exchange for Adell, a seven-year veteran who is being brought in to help the lineup over the rest of the regular season.
For the Angels, getting a Double-A catcher back says plenty about where the organization sees Adell at this stage and how it chose to value the exchange. For Cleveland, the deal is a bet on immediate offense, while Cozart becomes the kind of developmental piece that can keep a farm system moving even as the major league club tries to stay in the race. [Read more 🡒]