It was being reported on Sunday evening that the Dodgers are planning to pay 33-year-old right-hander Joe Kelly a $4 million buyout rather than pick up his $12 million club option for the 2022 season.

According to LA Times Dodgers beat writer Jorge Castillo (subscription required), Kelly’s late-season right biceps strain which caused him to be removed from the NLCS roster “…is significant enough that he won’t be ready for the start of the 2022 season,” (per MLB Trade Rumors).

As Dodger fans know all too well, right-handers Kenley Jansen, Corey Knebel, and Jimmy Nelson are also up for free agency this off-season and it seems a bit of a reach to think that Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman will bring all three of them back next season. As such, Dodger manager Dave Roberts‘ relief corps will probably have an entirely different look when pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training in late February.

In addition to his (relatively) good numbers over his three seasons with the Dodgers (7-4 / 3.59 ERA in 115 appearances), and his 100(+) MPH fastball, the Anaheim, CA native and third-round draft pick in 2009 by the St. Louis Cardinals out of UC Riverside became a huge fan-favorite during the Dodgers visit to the White House earlier this year when he swapped his jersey for a Mariachi jacket from one of the event’s entertainers.

The good news for Kelly is that he will undoubtedly generate considerable interest from teams looking for bullpen help in 2022 and beyond. His home runs allowed per nine innings (HR/9) was a scant 0.63 over the past five seasons, while the league average was 1.20 during that time.

Regardless of where Joe Kelly lands, we wish he and his family nothing but the best.

Play Ball!

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