The Cincinnati Reds have signed right-hander Casey Kelly to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Louisville, as announced by the team. Kelly, the son of Bats manager Pat Kelly, was recently released by the LG Twins of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO).
At 34, Kelly was a first-round pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2008. He was part of the trade package that included Anthony Rizzo and brought Adrian Gonzalez to Boston. Despite being a top-30 prospect at the time, Kelly’s MLB career did not reach the heights expected. He struggled during his rookie season with the Padres, posting a 6.21 ERA and a 4.78 FIP in six starts.
After a brief absence from the majors, he made intermittent appearances with the Padres and Braves before finding some success with the Giants in 2018, recording a 3.04 ERA and a 4.22 FIP in 23 2/3 innings over seven appearances (three starts).
Kelly’s performance in San Francisco led him to sign with the KBO’s LG Twins for the 2019 season. He excelled in his first year abroad with a 2.55 ERA in 180 1/3 innings across 29 starts. Over more than five seasons with the Twins, he maintained a solid 3.08 ERA in 875 2/3 innings.
However, Kelly’s performance declined this year, resulting in a 4.51 ERA and a low strikeout rate of 13.9% in 19 starts. Consequently, he was released to make way for Elieser Hernandez. This move has allowed Kelly to return to U.S. baseball for the first time since 2018, although he will face significant competition to reach the major leagues with the Reds.
The Reds currently have a rotation consisting of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Nick Martinez, and Carson Spiers, with Jakob Junis serving as a multi-inning reliever. Given that Junis has the weakest ERA+ among the starters, there isn’t an obvious weak spot in the rotation.
Kelly would need to outperform other non-roster veterans like Justus Sheffield and prospects on the 40-man roster, such as Lyon Richardson, to earn a spot with the major league team. Nonetheless, a strong performance in the minors could lead to opportunities in the major leagues in the future.
