Padres blew opportunity to trade Kirby Yates

With Kirby Yates recent injury news and impending free-agent status, the Padres likely missed out on trading him for assets.

Kirby Yates is one of the better stories in Major League Baseball. Middling relief pitcher claimed off waivers by the Padres and led the league in saves a year ago. But things aren’t too bright for the All-Star pitcher these days.

The 33-year-old made just six pitches in Friday’s loss to Arizona before leaving with the team’s trainer, and he will reportedly have an MRI on his elbow with what’s being called “discomfort in the back of his elbow.”

Yates, who had already been used sparingly, was off to a bad start this year, having thrown 28 pitches against Arizona and Colorado earlier this season, while not finishing the inning in either outing.

He rebounded with two 15-pitch save efforts against the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, but it had been a week since he made his appearance on Friday. And injuries relating to the elbow are usually never good, especially when the term “discomfort” is used.

And with Yates being a free agent at the end of the year, he may have made his last appearance for the Padres. In retrospect, it makes you wonder why the team didn’t try to trade him to a contender at the trade deadline last year.

It also makes the Emilio Pagan acquisition and Drew Pomeranz signing look enormous right now. Both guys will be leaned on heavily going forward, with Pagan presumably taking over closer duties.