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Joe Kelly

Quick Hits: Rojas, Kelly, Horowitz

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Luis Rojas has been unemployed for over a month now, after the Mets declined to pick up his option and retain him as manager for 2022. But he may have a chance to stay in the Big Apple, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that he was interviewed by the Yankees for one of their base coach jobs and “made a positive impression.”

Rojas had been in the Mets’ organization since 2007, working his way through the ranks of the minor leagues and eventually becoming quality control coach at the big league level in 2019. He was shoved into the manager’s chair after Carlos Beltran was fired in the wake of the Astros’ sign-stealing revelations and lasted two seasons. He hasn’t yet found a new position for 2022, but seems to have interest around the league, as he also interviewed for the Padres’ managerial opening before that was filled by Bob Melvin.

The Yankees are going to have a high degree of turnover in their coaching staff before next season, despite manager Aaron Boone being extended for three more years. First base coach Reggie Willits, third base coach Phil Nevin, hitting coach Marcus Thames and assistant hitting coach P.J. Pilittere have all either stepped down or been let go in recent weeks. If the Yankees end up getting Rojas to put pen to paper, Boone can be supported by a coach with a couple seasons of managerial experience under his belt.

More tidbits from around the league…

  • Joe Kelly’s 2021 was arguably his best season since becoming a reliever, but it ended on an ominous note. In the regular season, Kelly logged 44 innings with an ERA of 2.86, strikeout rate of 27.5%, walk rate of 8.2% and groundball rate of 58.9%. But then he left game five of the NLCS with an arm injury that ended his season, and the Dodgers declined his $12MM option for 2022, reportedly because they didn’t expect him to recuperate before spring training. However, it now seems like his outlook isn’t quite so dour, at least according to one medical professional. Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed shoulder surgery on Kelly a year ago, provided an update on the situation to Rob Bradford of WEEI. In regards to a team asking his opinion about the hurler, ElAttrache said, “I would tell the front office and their team doctors that I would be very optimistic that he would be ready for spring training.” If the 33-year-old is indeed healthy, he figures to be one of the most sought-after relievers this offseason, alongside guys like Raisel Iglesias, Kenley Jansen and Kendall Graveman, though he’ll likely have to hold a showcase at some point in the new year to prove his effectiveness and assuage the concerns of interested teams.
  • Jack Harris of the L.A. Times reports that Angels’ director of pro scouting Nate Horowitz has left the team. In recent weeks, the club has been shuffling a lot of chairs around behind the scenes, as they also parted ways with scouting director Matt Swanson and replaced him by bringing in Tim McIlvaine from the Brewers. The persistent narrative around the Angels in recent years has been their inability to build a well-rounded team to support their marquee players such as Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Anthony Rendon and Justin Upton. Despite the presence of Trout, arguably the best player of his generation, the Angels haven’t finished above .500 since 2015 and haven’t won a playoff game since 2009. There have been some positive signs recently, as younger players like Jared Walsh, Brandon Marsh, Jo Adell and Patrick Sandoval have started filling some holes around the veterans. But the shake up in the scouting department suggests the club is still trying to reshape their approach to team building in order to give their stars a chance to shine in the postseason.

Dodgers Decline Option On Joe Kelly

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have declined the $12MM club option for Joe Kelly for the 2022 season, per the team. The right-hander will receive a $4MM buyout and head to the open market, though a return to LA is certainly a possibility.

Kelly was hurt in his last appearance this postseason after serving as an opener. The pain “stemmed from the musculocutaneous nerve in Kelly’s arm,” per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. He is expected to resume a throwing program in six weeks, so he should have no problem getting ready for opening day.

Kelly and his mustache had a solid season in relief for the Dodgers. The 33-year-old appeared in 48 games, tossed 44 innings, and put up a 2.86 ERA/3.08 FIP. The power righty picked up a pair of saves and 13 holds while striking out a robust 27.5 percent of batters and walking a league-average 8.2 percent. He’ll be an attractive option for a contender given his postseason and high leverage experience.

Dodgers Plan To Decline Option On Joe Kelly

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The Dodgers hold a $12MM club option with a $4MM buyout on right-hander Joe Kelly, but Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times reports that the team is planning to pay him the buyout rather than pick up the net $8MM option. Part of the reasoning, according to Castillo, is that the biceps strain which caused Kelly to be removed from the NLCS roster is significant enough that he won’t be ready for the start of the 2022 season.

If that indeed proves to be the case, it’ll be an obvious detriment to Kelly’s free-agent stock this offseason. The 33-year-old could’ve been in position to command another multi-year deal were he at full strength, and the Dodgers would have had to give some consideration to a net $8MM decision for next year. Kelly’s first season in L.A. (2019) didn’t go as smoothly as he or the team hoped, but he’s pitched to a 2.67 ERA with a 26.3% strikeout rate and a 9.8% walk rate over the past two seasons. He averaged 98.1 mph on his heater this year — his best mark since 2018 — and also notched a career-best 11.6% swinging-strike rate.

The possible departure of Kelly is just one layer of what looks like a large amount of turnover among the Los Angeles relief corps. The Dodgers also have each of Kenley Jansen, Corey Knebel and Jimmy Nelson up for free agency this winter, and it’s unlikely that they’ll retain all of those pending free agents.

Depending on how strong an effort the Dodgers make to retain that group, the late-inning picture will look quite different for Dave Roberts & Co. Blake Treinen could step into the closer’s role for the first time since departing Oakland a few years back, while flamethrowing Brusdar Graterol would likely be in line for a higher-leverage role. The Dodgers will also hope to have former Yankees setup man Tommy Kahnle play a prominent role in 2022. He inked a two-year pact with Los Angeles last offseason, and the Dodgers knew at the time that he’d miss the 2021 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Turning back to Kelly, it remains to be seen just when he’ll be ready to go next season. If his outlook ultimately is strong enough that he can make it back to the mound relatively early in the season, he should still generate strong interest in free agency. Beyond the fact that he’s one of the hardest throwers on the free-agent market, Kelly has a lengthy track record of missing bats at a strong clip and limiting home runs at a far better level than the average reliever. Kelly has allowed just 0.63 HR/9 over the past five seasons; the league-average relief pitcher has yielded 1.20 HR/9 in that time.

David Price Replaces Joe Kelly On Dodgers’ NLCS Roster

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Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts announced that right-hander Joe Kelly has been removed from the team’s playoff roster following a bicep injury that occurred in the first inning of last night’s game. Left-hander David Price has been added to the 26-man roster in his place.

Kelly ran into trouble serving as an opener against the Braves, allowing a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman that ultimately proved inconsequential as the Dodgers stormed back not long after. After facing just four batters Kelly walked off the mound with what is being termed a biceps strain. Even if the Dodgers advance to the World Series this strain will prove season-ending for Kelly. Injury removals of this sort render players ineligible to return for the current or next series, meaning even a speedy recovery wouldn’t enable Kelly to rejoin the pen.

Despite last night’s hardships Kelly had been a reliable weapon out of the bullpen for Roberts, as he allowed just one run in 4 2/3 playoff innings up to that point. That had continued a trend of strong work this year, as the bespectacled reliever finished the season with an impressive 2.86 ERA/3.08 FIP, a 27.5% strikeout rate, and 58.4% roundball rate across 44 innings.

Price meanwhile has served as a utility pitcher of sorts in his first regular season action with Dodgers. Following his opt-out of last year’s shortened season Price has embraced the role of occasional starter, middle reliever, and game finisher. Opposing batters haven’t had much difficulty facing the former Cy Young winner, hitting .272/.339/.428 with just a 17.8% strikeout rate. An above average ability to avoid hard contact and keep the ball out of the air however has allowed the lefty to post a serviceable 4.03 ERA/ 4.23 FIP across 73 2/3 innings this year.

In one more piece of ominous Dodgers news, Roberts also reported that left-handed reliever Justin Bruihl is dealing with arm soreness.  On the year the rookie pitched to a 2.89 ERA/ 3.97 FIP with a strong 50% roundball rate across 18 2/3 innings. While the lefty sported only a 15.1% strikeout rate in his inaugural season he displayed much stronger bat-missing abilities in the minors throughout his career, frequently checking in with strikeout rates north of 30%. A call hasn’t been made on whether or not to replace Bruihl on the roster just yet, though this continues an unwelcome trend of playoff injuries for the team after replacing Justin Turner on the roster yesterday.

NL Injury Notes: Syndergaard, Betts, Kelly, Hoerner, Peralta

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Noah Syndergaard is expected to begin a rehab assignment this week, according to Tim Healey of Newsday Sports. As was previously reported, the Mets are planning on having the hulking righty return as a member of their bullpen, since there’s not enough time remaining in the season for him to be stretched out as a starter. This would be his second rehab assignment of the year, as he attempts to work his way back from undergoing Tommy John surgery in March of 2020. He had previously had a rehab stint in May, before being shut down due to elbow inflammation. It’s now been almost two years since his last big-league appearance, which was September 29th of 2019. The final few weeks of the season will be tremendously important for both Syndergaard and the Mets. The team needs all the help they can get to pull themselves out of their current nosedive. Despite having the division lead in the NL East as recently as August 5th, they are now in third place and seven games behind the Braves. As for Thor, he is a few weeks away from entering free agency for the first time and could help his own case by showing some health and effectiveness before the season ends.

More from around the NL…

  • The Dodgers are planning on reinstating Mookie Betts from the injured list on Thursday, per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. The outfielder has been dealing with hip pain all year and is currently in the midst of his second IL placement this season because of it. Despite the nagging hip situation, Betts has still been tremendously valuable when on the field. In 87 games this year, he’s hitting .277/.378/.521, for a wRC+ of 143. Getting him healthy will be a huge boost to the Dodgers as they attempt to chase down the Giants and make up the 2 1/2 games that separate them in the race for the NL West crown.
  • The Dodgers could also welcome Joe Kelly back into the fold this week, per Castillo. Kelly was placed on the IL without explanation on August 10th, but a source of Castillo’s confirmed that it was because of a positive COVID test. The righty has seemingly recovered, given that he started a rehab assignment on Friday. He’s done some quality work this year, throwing 29 2/3 innings of 3.34 ERA ball. The bullpen could use his fresh arm, since it’s recently put Garrett Cleavinger and Evan Phillips on the 10-day IL, as well as Jimmy Nelson going under the knife for season-ending Tommy John surgery earlier this month.
  • Nico Hoerner left the first game of his rehab assignment today because of tension in his oblique, per Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com. Hoerner and the Cubs can afford to play things cautiously, as they are well out of the playoff picture at this point. But the infielder has only been able to play in 39 games this season due to various injuries and would surely like to get some more reps before the winter. The club would also surely love to get more looks at him in action, given that they are going into an offseason with so many potential variables after parting ways with so much of their previous core. When on the field, he has had been effective at the plate this year, slashing .313/.388/.388, producing a wRC+ of 113. He’s also played second base, third base, shortstop, left field and center field, meaning that he could fit into the club’s future plans in a variety of ways.
  • Freddy Peralta played catch today, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Peralta went on the IL on Thursday with shoulder inflammation and will be eligible to return this coming weekend. The righty is in the midst of an exceptional breakout season, as he’s thrown 121 1/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA and superb strikeout rate of 34%. Among all pitchers with at least 120 innings this season, that’s the fourth-best ERA and fourth-best K%. The Brewers don’t need to rush him back, as they are 7 1/2 games ahead of the Reds in the NL Central. But assuming he can keep his shoulder in good shape, he’ll form one third of a potentially deadly playoff rotation, alongside Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes.

Dodgers Activate Corey Knebel From 60-Day Injured List; Place Joe Kelly On IL

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The Dodgers announced two bullpen moves, activating right-hander Corey Knebel from the 60-day injured list.  Knebel will take the place of Joe Kelly, who was placed on the injured list for unspecified reasons.

Knebel hasn’t pitched since April 23 due to a right lat strain, marking yet another significant injury setback for the veteran righty.  Tommy John surgery sidelined Knebel for the entire 2019 season, and he was limited to 13 1/3 innings last season due to both a hamstring problem and some struggles on the mound — Knebel had a 6.08 ERA over 13 1/3 frames.

Los Angeles acquired Knebel from the Brewers in the hopes that he could return to his old All-Star form from 2017, and though Knebel only tossed six innings before hitting the IL, there were some positive signs.  Knebel struck out nine of 24 batters faced, and his fastball was averaging 96.4mph.  This was well above his 94.4mph mark from 2020, and roughly around what Knebel averaged in his heyday in Milwaukee’s bullpen.

Dodgers Activate Joe Kelly, Place Scott Alexander On 10-Day IL

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The Dodgers have activated right-handed reliever Joe Kelly and placed lefty Scott Alexander on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 3) with inflammation in his pitching shoulder, Juan Toribio of MLB.com tweets.

Kelly, who’s in the final season of a three-year, $25MM guarantee, hasn’t pitched at all in 2021 on account of ongoing shoulder problems. Those issues played a role in limiting Kelly to 10 innings last season, and he revealed last week that he underwent surgery in November. When healthy, the hard-throwing 32-year-old has given the Dodgers 61 1/3 innings of 4.11 ERA ball with a 26.5 percent strikeout rate, a 10.5 percent walk rate and a stellar 60.6 percent groundball rate.

The addition of Kelly is a step forward for Los Angeles, but the loss of Alexander represents a step in the wrong direction for the reigning World Series champions. Alexander has been one of the Dodgers’ most effective relievers this year, having recorded a 2.31 ERA in 11 2/3 frames. While Alexander has only totaled five strikeouts, he has offset that by allowing one walk, and the 31-year-old has induced grounders at a 63.2 percent clip.

Quick Hits: Zimmermann, Voit, Dodgers, Red Sox

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Veteran right-hander Jordan Zimmermann was on the brink of calling it a career Thursday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes, but he changed his mind when the Brewers selected his contract. “I think I was retired for about two hours,” said Zimmermann, a Wisconsin native whom the Brewers promoted as a result of recent injured list placements for fellow pitchers Corbin Burnes, Brett Anderson, Zack Godley and Josh Lindblom. Now that Zimmermann will continue on, the former Nationals star will try to get his career back on track after a subpar run with the Tigers from 2016-20.

  • Yankees first baseman Luke Voit could make his 2021 debut as early as May 11, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relays. In the meantime, Voit – who underwent left knee surgery in late March – will start a rehab assignment at Double-A next week. The Yankees’ offense has improved since an ice-cold start to the season, but there’s no doubt the unit is better with a healthy Voit. The 30-year-old slugger led the majors with 22 home runs over 234 plate appearances last season and slashed .277/.338/.610 (152 wRC+).
  • The Dodgers’ bullpen has gone the first month of the season without righty reliever Joe Kelly, who’s on the IL with a shoulder issue. While Kelly is finally nearing his season debut, it turns out he has been dealing with a rather severe injury that required surgery in November, he revealed to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. “We found some cysts,” Kelly said. “My shoulder hasn’t been good since the end of 2019. But during my suspension after the thing with the Astros (early August) my arm was super weak. If I was laying on a table I couldn’t lift my arm past gravity. They asked me how long it was going on for and I told them forever. I couldn’t sleep at night and it felt like fire ants were eating my arm from the inside-out.” Kelly’s shoulder troubles helped limit him to 10 frames in the 2020 regular season, though he did contribute five appearances of 3 2/3-inning, one-run ball during the Dodgers’ World Series-winning playoff run.
  • The minor league contract that utilityman Danny Santana signed with the Red Sox initially included an opt-out date for today, but the two sides have agreed to push it back to the middle of May, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. On March 15, less than two weeks after joining the Boston organization, Santana was hospitalized with a foot infection that required surgery. Santana is still working back from that and will begin a minor league rehab assignment at the High-A level next Tuesday, per Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com.

Dodgers Injury Notes: Knebel, Kelly, McKinstry, Gonsolin, Lux

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Dodgers reliever Corey Knebel left last night’s game against the Padres with an apparent arm injury and he’s in for a lengthy absence. Knebel is going on the injured list with a right lat strain, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). He won’t undergo surgery but will be out for a few months, with Roberts saying the organization hopes Knebel will be able to “pitch for us again this year” (Plunkett link).

Given that timetable, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Dodgers eventually transfer Knebel to the 60-day IL to open up a 40-man roster spot. It’s a disappointing development for the righty, who missed the entire 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and spent some time on the IL last year due to a hamstring strain. Acquired from Milwaukee over the winter, Knebel has pitched six innings over eight appearances for the Dodgers this year, allowing three runs on three hits and as many walks with nine strikeouts.

Roberts also provided updates on a host of other injured players. Reliever Joe Kelly (shoulder soreness) is expected back in early-mid May, while utilityman Zach McKinstry will need more than the 10-day minimum IL stint to recover from his recent oblique strain (via Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Right-hander Tony Gonsolin, who is recovering from shoulder inflammation, began a long toss program but is not yet ready to work off the mound (per Plunkett). The news wasn’t all bad though, as second baseman Gavin Lux is expected to return from the IL when first eligible on Monday. Lux has been sidelined by right wrist soreness.

With Knebel and Dennis Santana (side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine) going on the injured list, the Dodgers are recalling infielder Matt Beaty and lefty reliever Garrett Cleavinger (Toribio link). Cleavinger, acquired from the Phillies in a three-team deal over the winter, will be making his Dodger debut if he gets into a game.

NL Injury Notes: Soroka, Mikolas, Kelly, Martinez

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Mike Soroka threw two innings in “simulated game conditions” this morning, reports David O’Brien of the Athletic. That marks a key milestone in the 23-year-old’s recovery from the ruptured Achilles that ended his 2020 season last August. It remains unclear precisely when Soroka will be ready to pitch this year, although O’Brien notes there has been “widespread speculation” of a late April or early May return. Soroka has a 2.86 ERA/4.33 SIERA over his first 214 big league innings.

The latest on some other health situations around the National League:

  • Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas had been expected to throw a bullpen session today, but that’ll be pushed back to Wednesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat were among those to note. Manager Mike Shildt said the right-hander feels good but wouldn’t guarantee Mikolas will be ready for Opening Day. Mikolas missed the entire 2020 season after undergoing surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his forearm, but the current issue is a “creaky” shoulder, notes Zachary Silver of MLB.com.
  • Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly looks unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The right-hander has been dealing with shoulder soreness, but he has been able to throw a few bullpen sessions recently, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The hard-throwing Kelly spent a month on the injured list last season with shoulder inflammation.
  • José Martínez has a “twisted left knee” after colliding with an umpire during today’s Spring Training contest, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report. He’ll likely go for an MRI tomorrow. The Mets signed the 32-year-old Martínez this winter after he struggled through a down 2020 season split between the Rays and Cubs. A significant injury would be a blow to his chances of earning a backup first base/corner outfield role this spring.
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