White Sox Sign Former Pirates Reliever
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PITTSBURGH — A former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher will have another opportunity in baseball with another MLB team.
The Chicago White Sox signed right-handed pitcher Keone Kela on April 16 and assigned him to the Arizona Complex League White Sox on April 17, according to the transactions page.
Kela was born in Los Angeles on April 16, 1993 and attended Carson Senior High School in Carson, Calif., before finishing at Chief Stealth High School in Seattle.
The Seattle Mariners took Kela in the 29th round of the 2011 MLB Draft, but he chose not to sign and instead enrolled in Everett Community College in Everett, Wash., playing center field for the 2012 season.
Kela did sign with the Texas Rangers, who took him in the 12th round with the No. 396 pick in the 2012 MLB Draft.
He spent three seasons in the minors with the Rangers, before making the Rangers Opening Day roster.
Kela had his best season as a rookie with Texas in 2015, as he pitched in 68 games, had a 7-5 record, a 2.39 ERA in 60.1 innings pitched, with 68 strikeouts to 18 walks and held opposing hitters to a .235 batting average.
He struggled in 2016 after having elbow surgery in late April, posting a 6.09 ERA, but bounced back in 2017, with a 2.79 ERA in 38.2 innings pitched over 39 appearances, holding hitters to a .135 batting average.
Kela pitched 38 games for the Rangers in 2018, with a 3-3 record and 24 saves in 36.2 innings, 44 strikeouts to 14 walks, and held hitters to a .206 batting average.
The Rangers would trade Kela to the Pirates for left-handed pitcher Taylor Hearn and infielder Sherten Apostel on July 31.
Kela would pitch in 16 games for Pittsburgh the rest of that season, with a 2.93 ERA over 15.1 innings pitched and an opposing batting average of .182.
He had a solid season with the Pirates in 2019, with a 2-0 record in 32 appearances out of the bullpen, a 2.12 ERA over 29.2 innings pitched, 33 strikeouts to 11 walks and an opposing batting average of .178.
Kela only pitched in three games in the 2020 season for the Pirates, as he dealt with right forearm tightness.
He would sign with the San Diego Padres on a one-year, $1.2 million on Feb. 18, 2021. He pitched in 10 games before undergoing Tommy John surgery on May 19.
Kela signed minor league deals with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022, but didn't make the MLB.
He would pitch with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan on Dec. 21, 2022. They released him on July 21, 2023.
Kela signed with the Tecoletos de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League for the 2024 season. He posted 40 strikeouts and a 2.70 ERA over 40 innings pitched, before the team suspended him for the rest of the season on July 23 due to discipline issues.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.