Ex-Cardinals Fan Favorite Officially Signs Elsewhere After Inconsistent Season
The St. Louis Cardinals have been critically analyzing the free agent market this winter to retool their dampened pitching staff.
Rumors of bringing back former talents have been floating around for the Cardinals all winter but so far, St. Louis has only returned right-handed pitcher Lance Lynn to the roster.
The competition to land pitching this offseason is stiff and a former Cardinals hurler is officially off the market.
"The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Joe Kelly on a one-year contract for $8 million," the club announced Monday.
The signing was reported weeks ago but held up by a lack of 40-man roster spots. After a trade with the New York Yankees, the Dodgers were able to make the move official.
Kelly was a third-round draft pick for the Cardinals in 2009 and pitched for St. Louis as a starter to begin his career until being traded to the Red Sox in 2014 -- eventually helping the Sox win a World Series as a reliever.
Transitioning into a full-time reliever in 2017 was a huge turnaround for Kelly's career -- recording a 3.98 ERA and 354 strikeouts in 305 1/3 innings pitched since.
The former Cardinals pitcher was placed on the 15-day injured list numerous times last season for various reasons -- including a groin strain, and right elbow and forearm inflammation.
The 35-year-old posted a 2-5 record with a 4.12 ERA, 60-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .196 batting average against, and 1.19 WHIP in 39 1/3 innings pitched for the Chicago White Sox and Dodgers in 2023.
With Kelly's injury history and age, it was probably best for the Cardinals not to sign back the hard-throwing reliever this offseason, though his underlying metrics point toward a better season ahead.
The Cardinals will continue to heavily pursue other avenues to bolster the bullpen. Perhaps they will find a better reunion elsewhere.
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