Yates fortunate to 'resurrect' career in SD

SAN DIEGO -- In the three seasons since he joined the Padres, Kirby Yates has rejuvenated his career. He arrived in San Diego as an April 2017 waiver claim, and soon enough, he'd become one of the most dominant bullpen arms in the Majors. Earlier this month, Yates was named to the inaugural All-MLB team.

It has been quite a journey for Yates since joining the Padres. And the changes aren't limited to the baseball field. Yates and his wife, Ashlee, have welcomed two children (whom Yates often credits for helping bring perspective to his job in the big leagues).

Ashlee and Kirby Yates have also become very active in the community. Two years ago, Ashlee was diagnosed with epilepsy, and they've since partnered with the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County for numerous events and fundraisers.

Now Yates is entering the final year of his contract, but he and the Padres both previously expressed a desire for an extension. Those talks haven't yet taken off this winter. But they could materialize in January as the arbitration deadline approaches.

“I’m always interested,” Yates said at the Winter Meetings. “It’s not up to me. When you get to that point, you have those discussions.”

MLB.com caught up with the Padres closer last week for a holiday-themed Q&A -- touching on his favorite holiday memories while growing up in Hawaii, his tenure in San Diego and his charity work:

MLB.com: First of all, what are your plans for the holidays, and how do you plan to spend the next week or two?

Yates: I'll be helping my wife wrap presents for the little ones and just hanging out with family. That's about it. That's really what it's about. My oldest daughter is getting a little bit older, and she's starting to understand Santa for the first time and the way the whole process works. So we'll see how this goes.

MLB.com: What are some of the normal holiday traditions for your family?

Yates: We usually do a dinner on Christmas Eve and then a lunch on Christmas. I don't think we're doing any of the hosting this year, just because we moved into a new house. So we've been busy with that. It's basically about getting together with family and getting the kids around their grandparents and everybody else.

MLB.com: You're coming off a pretty great season, and you were just named to the All-MLB Team. Can you describe what that honor means? You were an All-Star, obviously, but now you've been recognized for having put together a full season.

Yates: It's cool because you get to celebrate the entire body of work. Sometimes you can have a really good first three months and a bad last three months. Or vice versa. When you compile an entire six months of a baseball season, that's really hard to do. The fact that they opened up this award and are doing an All-MLB like they've done [in the NFL and NBA], I think it's neat. The more you think about the award, the more it makes sense to have it, and the more you appreciate what it means to win it.

MLB.com: The Padres have improved their bullpen already this winter. You've signed Drew Pomeranz, and some of the younger guys will make an impact this year. What do you make of the outlook of this bullpen and what it could be in 2020?

Yates: Obviously, it looks really, really good on paper. We've got a lot of power arms -- guys who can strike dudes out and miss some barrels. When you can stack more than two or three guys like that -- and we should have six or seven guys that can line up and be very dominant -- it's exciting. But we all have to go out there and do our part. I need to keep being my dominant self, and hopefully that trickles down. It's an area of the team we all feel very excited about.

MLB.com: This will be your fourth season with the Padres, and you've really turned your career around here. What has being a Padre meant to you, and why does this city, this fanbase and this franchise seem to mesh so well with you?

Yates: The personalities that I've come in contact with -- a lot of them are just real and easy to get along with. I've been really fortunate to land here and resurrect my career. I'm really thankful for the opportunity that they gave me. And the best part is the relationships that I've built and the relationships that I keep building. I think that kind of means the most to me.

MLB.com: I know that extends a little bit beyond baseball. You and your wife partnered with the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego. Can you describe what that organization and those efforts mean to you?

Yates: My wife was the head of this. She wanted to get involved and do something for it and just be involved in giving back to the community. The neat part for both of us has been meeting people that are going through the same things that we're going through and have gone through -- just asking questions and finding out their story. We've met a lot of great people in the foundation that we've partnered with.

MLB.com: What's your favorite holiday memory?

Yates: I really remember when I was little, we used to get up and open presents. I used to run into my brothers' rooms early in the morning and wake them up and tell them to get up and get the day going. We'd finish opening presents in the early morning, and by lunchtime, we'd probably be at the beach running around. That's the thing that I'll always remember. We'd always have a family day, going to the beach or doing something like that. That's kind of what it's all about, getting with your family, hanging out and enjoying being with everybody.