Kirby Yates and the Texas Rangers practically needed each other this offseason.

The Rangers needed a reliable back-of-the-bullpen arm after finishing the 2023 regular season 30-for-63 (47.6 percent) in save opportunities. Yates needed to prove to himself that he could still pitch at a high level as he entered his age-37 season.

In 2023, Yates posted a 3.28 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings for the Braves. But that came after he pitched just 11 1/3 innings from 2020-22 as injuries -- including Tommy John surgery in ¡®21 -- kept him off the field for extended periods of time.

So Yates signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Rangers this past offseason, hoping to build off the bounceback year he enjoyed with Atlanta in 2023.

¡°Yeah, I set up kind of a goal for this year,¡± Yates said. ¡°One of my things was to try and push myself and get back to that level that I thought it could be.¡±

It¡¯s safe to say that it worked out for both parties when they bet on each other.

Yates has been one of the best relievers in MLB this season, and the rest of the league thought so as well when he was named to his second career All-Star Game.

Entering the All-Star break, Yates¡¯ 1.05 ERA ranks second in MLB (min. 30 IP), while his .132 AVG allowed and .175 SLG allowed both lead MLB with the same qualifier. He's 16-for-16 in save opportunities, having taken over the closer job from Jos¨¦ Leclerc relatively early in the season.

"He's been incredible," Rangers starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen said. "Just incredible."

Yates became the first Texas relief pitcher selected since Joe Nathan in 2013 and the fifth different Rangers pitcher to make the team in the past five All-Star Games, after Mike Minor (2019), Kyle Gibson (2021), Mart¨ªn P¨¦rez (2022) and Nathan Eovaldi (2023).

¡°I think this gives it a little bit of validation that it was pretty good in the first half,¡± Yates said. ¡°The last five years have been weird. Look, if you would have asked me in April or May last year if I thought this was possible, I probably would have said no. But I did feel like this was attainable this offseason. There were some adjustments that I would have had to make and I made them. Thankfully they've all paid off.¡±

As recently as 2022, Yates was questioning whether he¡¯d ever be able to stay healthy again. By ¡®23, he proved he could do it, even if it was a bit of a grind.

¡°After not pitching for three years, I was still able to go out there and be productive,¡± Yates said. ¡°It wasn't the year that I think everybody was expecting me to have. I always mark good pitchers and good hitters in the big leagues by looking at what their floor is, not the ceiling. For me, I felt like it was still a decent year and I didn't feel like I pitched that good. That was kind of a huge confidence boost for me to go into this year. ¡­ This is by far the healthiest I¡¯ve been since ¡®19.¡±

Now, he¡¯s closing out games for the reigning World Series champs. And he¡¯s been nails while doing it, if you ask manager Bruce Bochy.

Yates said this selection is special because of what he¡¯s gone through on the injury front over the last five years. He pictures standing on the line during the national anthem come Tuesday, and the struggles that will flash through his mind.

¡°Going through this once before, I know that the emotions don't really start hitting you until you get closer to the game,¡± he said. ¡°I think I'll be a little bit more mellow, but last time, it didn't really kick in until the Star Spangled Banner was going on and you look up and you see your family and you see everybody how excited they are. I am excited. I'm very, very proud of myself. I think there'll definitely be a lot more emotions this week."