I was disappointed when Joe Kelly signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent on December 13.
Kelly, a 30-year-old right hander, with a blazing fast ball, came to the Red Sox from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trading deadline in 2014 in a deal that sent John Lackey to St. Louis.
Despite some problems with consistency this year, he had been a valuable member of the Red Sox bullpen over the last five years. At just 6-foot-1, with a fast ball that has reached over 100 miles an hour the past two years, he was a critical part of the Red Sox success this year, particularly in the playoffs and World Series.
In the World Series, against those same Dodgers that he just signed with, he appeared in all five games, pitching six innings and giving up just four hits while holding the Dodgers scoreless and striking out 10. In the division and championship series combined, he was in four games, pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up just one run on five hits. Altogether, in the postseason, he was in nine games, pitching 11 1/3 innings, giving up just one run on nine hits and striking out 13 while not walking a single batter.
In the 2016 and 2017 postseason, when the Sox lost in the AL Division Series after winning the regular season both years, he appeared in five games, pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up just four hits while pitching scoreless ball. In the last three years in the playoffs and World Series — in 14 appearances, totaling 17 2/3 innings — he gave up just one run on 15 hits for a 0.540 ERA, while striking out 17 and not walking a single batter. Not too shabby against the best baseball has to offer.
Overall, in his five years with the Sox, he won 26 and lost 11, with a 4.33 ERA, but he has improved, not just in the velocity of his fastball, but overall. In the last two years, he made 127 appearances in relief with a 3.64 ERA and 120 strikeouts.
Kelly, in addition to being an outstanding reliever, has an infectious personality. whether he is flipping sunflower seeds in the bullpen, which he never seems to stop doing, or playing pranks on his teammates, he is the life of the club house. His masquerading as elderly people and reporters in the clubhouse have entertained his team mates both at St. Louis and Boston.
In April of this past year, after Yankees first baseman Tyler Austin slid hard into Brock Holt at second base, Kelly plunked him with a pitch his next time up and Austin charged the mound. Kelly surprised everyone by meeting him head on and getting in some good shots before the fight was broken up.
He ended up with a six-day suspension and, typically, watched one game of the suspension from the bleachers at Fenway. The battle with Austin sparked a “Joe Kelly Fight Club” tee short that was seen around Fenway all year and got Joe a standing ovation when he next appeared.
The Dodgers outbid the Red Sox for Kelly’s services, giving him a three-year, $25. million-dollar contract, while the Sox were unwilling to go for a third year and apparently couldn’t or wouldn’t match the $8.3 million per year the Dodgers offered. Kelly made just $3.8 million last year with the Sox.
The Dodgers already have veteran closer Kenley Jansen who has saved 268 games for them in nine years with a 2.68 ERA and had 38 saves in 42 attempts last year. Kelly is expected to be the eighth inning reliever, the bridge to Jansen.
Kelly was born in Anaheim, California and went to high school in Corona, California. He attended the University of California at Riverside and was drafted in the third round of the Amateur Draft in 2009 by the St. Louis Cardinals. He spent the next three years in the Cardinals’ minor league system before being promoted to the parent team in 2012 and was with the Cards until coming to the Sox in 2014.
With his 100-mile plus fastball and the way he handled the Dodgers in the World Series, it’s no surprise the Dodgers wanted him on their side as they look forward to another run at the big prize next year. For Kelly, going back to the area where he was born and raised had to be a factor in his decision to leave Boston. With his acting ability and personality, he may find himself in the movies as well as on the mound in LA.
With Kelly gone and the possibility of signing Craig Kimbrel back getting less and less likely, the Sox appear to be badly in need of a closer. They are rumored to be looking at Nate Eovaldi to fill that role, but that may be a waste of his ability. Eovaldi is another pitcher who has increased the velocity on his fast ball and now throws 100 regularly. He has had two Tommy John surgeries, the first in high school and the second while with the Yankees in 2016. He is not the first pitcher to come out of TJ surgery throwing harder than before.
In his seven years with the Dodgers, Marlins, Yankees, Rays and now Boston, he has appeared in 156 games, 148 as a starter and, with Chris Sale, David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez and Rick Porcello, could give the Sox the best starting rotation in baseball.  Finding an effective closer should be at the top of Dave Dombrowski’s list of things to do between now and the start of the 2019 season.
It’s just 62 days until the Spring Training opener against the Yankees, and 96 days until the season kicks off in Seattle on March 28.
Merry Christmas to all of you.

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