Kelly, 37, returns to the team he spent nearly his entire Major League career with. Although initially drafted by the Rays in the eighth round of the 2010 draft, Kelly made his big league debut with the Diamondbacks in 2019 after spending four seasons in Korea as a member of the KBO’s SK Wyverns (now known as the SSG Landers). After a pedestrian rookie campaign in the majors, where he pitched to a league-average ERA in 32 starts, Kelly managed to carve out a role for himself as one of the better mid-rotation arms in the majors.
Since the start of the 2022 campaign, Kelly has pitched to a 3.47 ERA (120 ERA+) in 108 starts. He struck out 23.1% of his opponents in that time, while walking 7.7%, leaving him with an FIP of 3.81. While Kelly’s peripherals (including a 4.03 SIERA) considered him a step down from your prototypical front-end starter, the veteran has managed to remain a quality rotation piece who eats innings at a high level (with at least 175 innings of work in three of the last four seasons) and endeared himself to Arizona fans when he delivered a brilliant 2.25 ERA during the club’s run to the World Series in 2023.
Amid a disappointing 2025 season in which the Diamondbacks were plagued by injuries to everyone from star closers Justin Martinez And AJ Puk to newly signed ace Corbin Burnesthe team was involved in a sellout at this year’s trade deadline, sending Kelly to the Rangers in exchange for a trio of pitching prospects. Kelly put up uninspiring numbers in ten starts with the Rangers, posting a 4.23 ERA and a nearly matching 4.18 FIP over 55 1/3 innings of work. Even while the veteran was in Texas, there was speculation about an offseason reunion with the Diamondbacks. Shortly before last week’s Winter Meetings, the Arizona side reported “definite” interest in reuniting with Kelly, and now the parties have reached an agreement.
As for the deal itself, Kelly’s $40 million guarantee expires just shy of the two-year mark and the $36 million MLBTR projected for the right-hander when he ranked him as the #25 free agent on this offseason’s Top 50 MLB Free Agents list. Perhaps that small premium the Diamondbacks paid for Kelly’s services was the cost of cornering the market; While the free agent market for position players and especially relievers has already accelerated, Kelly is only the third starting pitcher from MLBTR’s Top 50 to sign a contract this season. He joins Dylan stops And Cody Ponceboth of which received guarantees that somewhat overshadowed MLBTR’s prediction.
There’s more to come.
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