Dodgers Fan Favorite Champion Reveals Timeline for Potential Return to LA

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin (26), starting pitcher Dustin May (85) and relief pitcher Joe Kelly (99) lean on a fence in the bull pen during spring training at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 18, 2024. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Joe Kelly hasn't given up on his ambitions to return to Major League Baseball.

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Kelly has made it clear he'll only return for one team: the Dodgers. The Southern California native and three-time World Series champion doesn't want to embarrass himself if and when he takes the mound in a showcase setting, however.

In a recent interview on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast, Kelly revealed his hopeful timeline for a return.

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"I've been playing by myself, with my friends, my buddies," Kelly said. "I still have to throw to them probably two more times. I was a little rusty in my last one."

Kelly told host Rob Bradford he's been working out at Cal Poly Pomona, less than an hour from Dodger Stadium in reality but a far cry from the pressure of a big league playoff hunt.

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"I went down and threw to a couple kids who catch me; a couple hitters," Kelly said. "Threw to Josh, a kid from Corona High. Stuff wasn’t as sharp as I wanted it to be, but it was my first time wearing cleats in nine months maybe. I was 94 (mph), maybe 95. I need to face hitters a few more times."

Kelly said he is not dealing with any of the physical issues that prematurely ended his 2024 season. He finished the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder and ultimately never took the mound for the Dodgers in a postseason that culminated with a World Series championship.

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Kelly sounded confident he'll be able to help them this time around if given the chance.

"I just want to be good — velocity, yeah, I’ll come back throwing 99, 100," he said. "But I want it to be good. I don’t want it to be slop."

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To that end, he wants a few more live sessions against hitters before he throws for any Dodgers personnel.

"That’s the ultimate plan, yeah," Kelly said. "Time is on this side. My last bullpen yesterday was great. I finally got my breaking balls back. They’re spinning good, spinning hard. Two different shapes. That was the last thing besides ultimate command. Velocity ticks up every time, that’s going to come, but the shapes and spins on my pitches were not where I wanted them to be, but now they are."

Kelly is 54-38 with a 3.98 ERA in 485 career games. The 37-year-old right-hander finished the 2023 and 2024 seasons in Los Angeles, making 46 appearances out of the Dodgers' bullpen after arriving in a July 2023 trade with the Chicago White Sox.

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