The Dodgers have signed right-hander Keone Kela to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The deal is listed as taking place on August 31, which is significant as 11:59pm ET on August 31 was the postseason eligibility cutoff. Those within an organization but not on the 40-man at the start of September can still be added to the postseason roster to replace a player on the injured list via petition to the commissioner’s office.
Kela, 29, has spent time with the Rangers, Pirates and Padres in his MLB career. Since debuting in 2015, he’s thrown 227 1/3 innings with a 3.33 ERA, 29.9% strikeout rate, 9.2% walk rate and 43.8% ground ball rate. He’s often been trusted with high leverage situations as well, having racked up 28 saves and 59 holds in his career.
Unfortunately, health issues have slowed him down in recent years. In 2020, a positive COVID test and forearm tightness limited him to just two innings on the season. Last year, he logged 10 2/3 frames before requiring Tommy John surgery in May. He signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks for this season and returned to the mound in July. He threw 12 innings between Arizona’s Complex League team and the Triple-A Reno Aces. He was released and latched on with the Dodgers last week.
It’s been a few years since Kela has been able to be effective over an extended stretch, but he threw 29 2/3 innings for the Pirates in 2019 with a 2.12 ERA. If his return to game action after his lengthy layoff goes well, he could be an option for a Dodgers team that has the best record in baseball and is cruising into the postseason. That’s despite a bevy of injuries to the pitching staff, as the club currently has 10 hurlers on the IL. If they should need a fresh arm to join the team down the stretch or in the playoffs, Kela could provide them with an intriguing option.
Mr. Positive Attitude himself
Danny Duffy and Tommy Kahnle are at OKC for rehab assignments too. The Dodgers have a lot of options for RP, including the kids at AAA.
This time of year having a lot of options doesn’t count for much. The only options that really count now are good ones. It would be surprising if Duffy, Kahnle, or Kela could show enough over the next month to find their way on the playoff roster.
No, it’s no insignificant.
At the talent level all 3 have (light years above all of us on this board). Even the notion of capturing lightning in a bottle for 2 weeks can have a significant impact (see ATL OFers PS 2021)
You never know what can happen, this game is dominated by people who get out 700 times out of 1000 at the highest levels. So having someone who’s done it before and might possibly do it again is better than the alternative.
I didn’t say anything about significance. I said it was a long shot for any of these three to make the playoff roster, which it is. They have thrown few to no pitches in the majors for years, and only four weeks to show that they still can. Further putting any one of them on the roster means taking someone else off, and that can be a one-way trip.
Duffy hasn’t pitched in MLB since mid-July of last year. Kahnle last pitched in the majors in May of 2019 and has a 6.75 ERA in all of the 4 innings he’s thrown in the minors this season. And the post talks about the Kela dude.
There’s a reason they’re in AAA ball right now. And it’s not talent or lack there of. I wouldn’t be surprised if none of the 3 make it back to MLB.
Kahnle pitched this year
Duffy has been doing well in rehab games, I believe he will pitch for team in September to assess him for postseason play. Since rosters can change each postseason series it makes sense to see what Duffy (in particular) can do against ML hitters. Victor Gonzalez is another lefty I expect to see in September to determine if he can help the team in postseason.
Kahnle has pitched a grand total of five major league innings over the last three years combined. This is the meaning of “few.”
That’s not the way baseball works blue sky. Your opinion on who is good and who isn’t doesn’t matter. It’s the dodgers coaching staff that chooses and having many options is a good thing.
Sorry, but it is. I stated no opinions at all about who is good. That wasn’t my point at all, obviously.
With you here Blue-
Expectations from Duffy Kahnle Victor Gonzo are next to nil in my books-
Im MUCH more interested in Graterols and Almontes progress tho the lack of words on them is a bit discouraging today
It’s amazing with how many names we have lost it still doesn’t even feel like the roof is on fire. Theres some holes no doubt today but I think we might be able to make it thru the rainy season here and raise the trophy even so
* Heaney is so nasty, have a feeling he could play BIG in a swing role for us .
Agreed. I figure if any of these three or four guys throws a pitch for the big club over the remainder of the season it will most likely be to take some load off the relievers the Dodgers expect to play in the postseason. But somebody is bound to tell me it doesn’t work that way…
Is Cole Hamel still available. If he is, he would be yet another option that would fit into this category of guys that had it but don’t anymore and aren’t likely to ever again.
Maybe there is lightening but can you give 3-4 guys a chance in the post season? What if they all fail and cost you 3-4 games?
@longtime
You don’t give all the guys a chance, that’s would be pretty dense. The dodgers will play whoever is performing the best. You armchair managers over complicate it. I never said those guys would play for the MLB team. I only pointed out the dodgers have options. Which isn’t wrong.
Dodgers have probably been scouting him since he was knee high to a grasshopper.
Keone Kela is special K man.
This may be a signing more about 2023 than 2022. Provides the Dodgers a month to assess Kela’s arm health and perhaps negotiate a 2023 contract. Kela comes with a buyer-beware flag as he has a reputation of being a hot-head and unpopular in the Rangers and Pirates clubhouses. Then, there is the 10 game suspension for throwing at Derek Dietrich’s head because Dietrich admired his home run the previous at bat (Kela admitted that it was intentional).. Dodgers can determine if Kela has matured — if not, he won’t be around in 2023.
Do you have any info to suggest that his contract covers more than the end of this season? Most minor league contracts don’t.
He didn’t say it did, he said that this signing gives the Dodgers a chance to evaluate and see if they want him back for next year or not.
Hence: “Provides the Dodgers a month to assess Kela’s arm health and ‘perhaps’ negotiate a 2023 contract.”
Point taken! The way I read it the first time it looked like you were saying they had some control. I see now you were saying something else. Sorry!
SoCal-He did not throw at his head.I think that it was behind him.It was intentional.I don’t know that he got 10 games,more like three I think.
Major league pitchers are good enough that if they want to hit someone anywhere on the body they can.
This guy has been a talented pitcher his whole career.If he has matured and gets along and becomes healthy he would help any major league team.
Dodgers have a buttload of free agents pending…
David Price
Trea Turner
Clayton Kershaw
Craig Kimbrel
Tyler Anderson
Andrew Heaney
Joey Gallo
Tommy Kahnle
Daniel Hudson
Team option Blake Treinen for $8 mil (35 years old)
Team option on Justin Turner for $16 mil (37 years old)
Arbitration for Cody Bellinger for over $17 mil (3 bad years now)
Maybe they are looking ahead to 2023 and trying to get some options so they don’t have to do all the work over the winter?
Buttload is a word… hmmm.
“Did you know that a “buttload” is an actual unit of measure of volume? It dates back to middle English. A butt is also know as a pipe and is an official unit of measure for English Brewery Cask Units and English Wine Casks Units.”
Treinen is signed for 2023 ($8M) the team option is for 2024. Dodgers have 2023 options for Hudson, Hanser Alberto, Danny Duffy, and Jimmy Nelson.
Only Clayton Kerahaw resigns.
Kela wants to fight Pham
In typical savage form, the Dodgers should bring him up for one of the upcoming series’ against the Padres. Have him come in and close out the game that eliminates the Padres from division.
Given their recent record against the Pads, and the Dodgers tendency to get tripped up in the playoffs, I would think the Dodgers would try really hard not to eliminate the Pads from the playoffs
Brewrers got that situation on lock already
I didn’t say eliminate from playoffs. I just said eliminate from winning the division.
At this point, the Pads are a good bet to make the playoffs. I was just referencing how the Pads dropped Thompson and the Dodgers picked him up and is excelling. Now, the Pads had dropped Kela (albeit, last year) and it be would comical if he excelled against the Pads too.
And yes, I am well aware that the playoffs are a crap shoot.
“ Given their recent record against the Pads, and the Dodgers tendency to get tripped up in the playoffs, I would think the Dodgers would try really hard not to eliminate the Pads from the playoffs”
You know LA has won the title or been eliminated by the eventual champion every season since 2017? that’s… four in a row and now in year 5 of that streak, they’re trying to become the best regular season team ever, record wise.
You act like they’re the padres…
And never mind the five possible teams they could face in the NLCS.
Every year since 2016.
Should be an upgrade from Jake Reed.