Yankees acquire Kirby Yates from Cleveland

The Yankees have purchased right-handed reliever Kirby Yates from the Cleveland Indians, according to YES Networks Jack Curry.

Yankees have purchased Kirby Yates, a LH reliever, from the Indians. He had been DFA'd. He's 1-2 w/ 5.27 ERA in 57 career games (w/ Rays)

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) January 8, 2016

Correction on Yates tweet. He's a RH reliever. I was typing that last tweet left-handed so I made a mistake (no I wasn't but it sounds good)

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) January 8, 2016

Yates struggled throughout the 2015 season posting a 7.97 earned run average while giving up 10 home runs in 20 1/3 innings pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees see something in Yates to acquire him from Cleveland. The 28-year-old averaged 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings in the majors, which is something the Yankees covet. He has a big arm and provides New York with organizational depth. In the minors, Yates's struggles continued. He finished the season with a combined 5.60 ERA between Single-A and Triple-A. The Yankees continue to make small organizational moves to deepen their farm systems, especially at the higher levels. Though Yates is not the big name everyone is hoping for, he will provide depth in the system, which is something the team needs considering the lack of major league relievers on the current roster.