As the Dodgers search the trade market for relief help, a member of their World Series-winning bullpen is reportedly set to throw for the team.
Free agent Joe Kelly was a postseason hero for the Boston Red Sox in 2018 when they beat the Dodgers in the World Series, then for the Dodgers when they defeated the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2020 championship.
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Although Kelly finished last season on the Dodgers’ injured list, and has yet to sign a new contract for 2025, he never formally announced his retirement.
Now 37, Kelly is set to throw for the Dodgers — a necessary step if the reliever were to reunite with the team that signed him twice in the last six years, and traded for him at the 2023 deadline.
“If I come back healthy, I’m only playing for one team, and that’s the Dodgers,” Kelly told Foul Territory in June.
Joe Kelly: “If I come back healthy, I’m only playing for one team, and that’s the Dodgers.” pic.twitter.com/1StmPvnWJH
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) June 25, 2025
Kelly broke in with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012 before his time with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and two separate stints in Dodger blue. Through 2024, Kelly had pitched 13 seasons, going 54–38 with a 3.98 ERA over 839 innings, and 767 strikeouts against 355 walks.
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Kelly saved his best work for October. He won two World Series rings from his time with L.A. (2020, 2024) plus another with Boston in 2018.
Kelly appeared in all five World Series games in 2018 without allowing a run and striking out six batters in 10 innings for the Red Sox. In 2020, he made five postseason appearances for the Dodgers, totaling 3.2 innings, and didn’t allow a run in four of them.
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Since 2016, when he focused on relieving full-time, Kelly is 4-2 with a 3.23 ERA in 30 postseason games, with nine walks and 32 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.
The Dodgers could use more swing-and-miss stuff from a bullpen that has lost most of its high-leverage relievers to injuries in 2025.
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Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol have spent most or all of the season on the injured list. They were recently joined by Tanner Scott (elbow). Kirby Yates, who signed a $13 million contract with the Dodgers in December, has a 6.00 ERA in eight July appearances.
The Dodgers have room in their bullpen for Kelly. The only question is whether his command, control, and velocity is up to standard. It seems the Dodgers will find out soon.
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