The Los Angeles Dodgers surprised many with their quiet trade deadline, but there is a reliever that LA may add ahead of the final stretch of the season that won’t require parting ways with any assets.
Right-hander Joe Kelly is currently a free agent and threw for the Dodgers recently, as the team is looking for bullpen help for the final stretch of the season.
Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain spoke to MLB insider Bob Nightengale regarding what bringing in Kelly would mean to the team.
“They could,” Nightengale said. “It’s almost like a Kiké Hernandez — they excel in October. So many scouts have said, ‘Yeah, I’d sign Joe Kelly for a one month contract, because that’s when he turns it on, is October.’ It would be nice for depth. Who knows what he has left.”
Kelly allowed just one earned run in 11.1 innings of postseason work during the Boston Red Sox World Series run in 2018, and allowed one run over 3.2 October innings for the Dodgers in 2020.
Nightengale mentioned that even if Kelly doesn’t make the postseason roster, he can still be a valuable asset, throwing in quality innings for the Dodgers.
This would be similar to his role last year, making 35 appearances with LA and not throwing in the postseason.
One of the Dodgers two acquisitions ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline was reliever Brock Stewart, however Kelly would be a perfect candidate to fortify a pitching roster that has been hampered by injuries throughout 2025.
The current state of the bullpen has the eighth-highest ERA in baseball, and Tanner Scott, before being moved to the injured list, led MLB with seven blown saves across 26 save opportunities.
Although not playing professionally, Kelly is still around the game as a manager for his son’s youth team, but the hope is that remnants of his average fastball velocity of 98.1 mph from 2024 is still there.
