December 13th, 2018 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Unless you happened to be up at midnight, it wasn’t until you woke up on Thursday morning that you learned that the Dodgers had finally … finally made a significant transaction at the 2018 MLB Winter Meetings in Las Vegas.
At 12:02 a.m. PT, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported that former Boston Red Sox right-hander Joe Kelly had agreed to a three-year / $25 million contract with the Dodgers.
Unless you were living under a rock at the time, Dodger fans immediately recognize the name Joe Kelly for a couple of reasons, most notably as the guy who appeared in all five World Series games for the Red Sox, during which he allowed zero runs on four hits while walking none and striking out 10 of the 22 Dodgers batters he faced in his combined 6.0 innings pitched. In other words, aside from a single by Manny Machado in Game-3 and singles by Max Muncy, Machado, and Chris Taylor in Game-4, Kelly was perfect against the two-time World Series runner-up Dodgers.
…now he are one.
As for the other reason why Dodger fans might recognize Joe Kelly, it is because of the fastball that he buried into the ribs of former Dodger slugger Hanley Ramirez in the first inning of Game-1 of the 2013 National League Championship Series while Kelly was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, the team that selected him in the third round of the 2009 MLB draft out of UC Riverside. Although Ramirez managed to play through the pain for the remainder of that game, it was later learned that he had suffered a fractured rib and was lost for the remainder of the series, which was eventually won by the Cardinals four games to two.
Over his seven-year MLB career, Kelly is 43-25 with a 3.87 ERA. The Anaheim, California native began his career as a starting pitcher, having made 38 starts for the Cardinals. He was traded to the Red Sox at the July 31, 2014 trade deadline and made 41 starts for Boston but was moved to the bullpen during the 2016 season. After receiving his World Series ring, he became a free agent on October 29, 2018 and had been the focus of numerous rumors during the Winter Meetings this past week.
Once a worthy adversary of the Dodgers,
…now he are one.
Play Ball!
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As the old saying goes, “If you can’t beat him, join him” or put him on our side. I like this move, I think he will give Jansen a lot of help.
It’s actually “If you can’t beat them, join them,” but I get your point.
If we crack his ribs now, will he still be ready for opening day?
Soooo….. you think the Dodgers will sign Hundley and Pollack?😬 I know it’s not the same, but both o… https://t.co/CJ2uVkcKop
…or in the case of 2013, “If you can’t join them, beat them” – ala intentionally beaning Hanley. I’ll never believe it wasn’t intentional. The “Cardinals way to play”!