The Dodgers have placed extremely popular 35-year-old right-hander Joe Kelly on the injured list with right forearm inflammation, retroactive to August 10.

“It’s an elbow, it’s something that he’s dealt with all year, so he was going to try to go today after giving him a few days off, catch play today,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters postgame. “He said he could go, but a player like Joe, says he could go, that’s doing it for the organization and teammates.

“But that’s telling, and so what we’re gonna do is backdate it, keep his arm moving, if that’s ok to keep doing, and then once that 15 days is up, he’ll be back, just trying to be mindful of his usage, possibly trying to stay away from back-to-backs. But obviously we acquired Joe for the stretch run, and that’s still the gameplan,” Roberts added.

The extremely hard-throwing Anaheim, CA native and third round draft pick in 2009 by the St. Louis Cardinals out of UC Riverside was initially signed by the Dodgers as a free agent on December 21, 2018, for whom he pitched three seasons, posting a combined 7-4 record and a combined 3.58 ERA.

Kelly etched his name in Dodgers lore forever on July 28, 2020, when the Dodgers returned to Minute Maid Park for the first time since being cheated out of the 2017 World Series by the (confirmed) sign-stealing Houston Astros. During that game, Kelly delivered a sixth-inning pitch over the head of Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, drawing immediate boos from the very large (and very biased) Astros crowd and chirps for the Astros dugout. He then backed up Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel with a very inside breaking ball, which drew the same response.

But wait, there’s more!

Kelly complete his scoreless inning by striking out much-hated (by Dodgers fans) Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, after which the two exchanged harsh glares at each other, with Kelly making his now-infamous pouty face at Correa. This prompted both benches to clear and an intense shouting match ensued. Tempers eventually cooled and play resumed (without any ejections), with the Dodgers winning the contest by a score of 5-2.

After the game, Kelly denied intentionally trying to hit any of the Astros batters, but MLB thought otherwise and suspended him for eight games. Kelly appealed the suspension, which was reduced to five games … but a star was born.

The Dodgers reacquired Kelly from the Chicago White Sox on July 28, 2023, along with 36-year-old right-hander Lance Lynn, in exchange for 32-year-old/seven-year MLB veteran outfielder Trayce Thompson, minor league right-handed reliever/outfielder Jordan Leasure, and minor league right-handed starting pitcher Nick Nastrini. Since his return, Kelly has made four relief appearances, picking up one win without allowing a run in his 3.2 innings pitched, giving him a now 8-4 record and 3.47 ERA while wearing Dodger Blue.

Over his combined 12 MLB seasons, Kelly owns an impressive 57-37 record, with an equally impressive 3.96 ERA in his remarkable 800.1 career innings pitched.

Get well soon, Joe.

Play Ball!

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