The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with former San Diego Padres right-hander Casey Kelly on a minor league deal
Kelly, 35, was selected by the Boston Red Sox as a first-round pick in 2008 and rapidly gained recognition in the minors, earning a spot as a consensus top-100 prospect. He was traded to the Padres, along with future All-Star Anthony Rizzo, in exchange for Adrian Gonzalez.
Kelly made his MLB debut with San Diego the following year but struggled in his first stint, posting a 6.21 ERA over 29 innings in s
More news: Dodgers Star Admits Padres Would Have Won World Series If They Beat LA in NLDS
After Tommy John surgery sidelined him in 2013, Kelly returned to the mound in 2015. It didn’t go well as he was torched. He recorded a 7.94 ERA in 11.1 innings of work and saw his time with the Padres come to a disappointing end.
Kelly bounced around after leaving San Diego, spending time with the Braves, Cubs, and Giants organizations over the next couple of seasons. His time in the big league with Atlanta was brief but in 2018, he found success with San Francisco.
The right-hander pitched only 23.2 innings in the majors that year, but his 3.04 ERA marked his first above-average performance in quite some time.
More news: Padres Superstar Says Getting Hurt Last Year Was ‘Best Thing’ That Could Have Happened
From there, Kelly spent the next six seasons in Korea where he posted a 3.25 ERA over 989.1 innings with the LG Twins from 2019 to 2024.
Kelly’s first four years were particularly strong, as he made at least 27 starts each season, with ERAs ranging from 2.54 to 3.32 and solid peripheral stats to match. However, Kelly began to show signs of decline in 2023, and by 2024, his struggles continued, with a 4.51 ERA in 19 starts. This performance led the LG Twins to release him in July of last year, marking the end of his KBO career.
When Kelly arrived stateside after being cut loose from the KBO in 2024, he signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds, appearing in only two games. He gave up three runs over five innings.
Kelly was then outrighted to Triple-A Louisville in August and elected minor league free agency back in October. He now starts a new chapter with
