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Joe Kelly is many things: thrower of 99-mph sinkers and knee-buckling sliders, wearer of mariachi jackets to the White House, unabashed producer of pouty faces, like the one he gave former Houston shortstop Carlos Correa after a fiery exchange, author of a baseball memoir titled “A Damn Near Perfect Game.”
One thing the new/old and often outspoken Dodgers reliever is not: a sentimentalist.
While being discarded in a losing team’s liquidation sale might ruffle the feathers of some big league veterans, Kelly wasn’t the least bit offended by the Chicago White Sox’s decision to trade him last week, when the team sent him and starter Lance Lynn to the Dodgers and starter Lucas Giolito and reliever Reynaldo López to the Angels.
The Dodgers knew they needed to make some moves to improve the roster, but with nearly all of their intended trade targets they encountered issues.
“I lack empathy, and I’ve heard that multiple times — I don’t get sad at things that make other people sad, I don’t shed tears when other people should shed tears — so if I was running the White Sox, I would do the same thing,” Kelly, 35, said. “You have free agents or guys with options, stuff you can get back in a losing season to add to your team for the future. I think it’s the smartest thing to do, honestly.
“I’ve never had hard feelings when I’ve been traded or signed elsewhere. I understand that more than anybody. If you watch ‘Star Wars,’ I’m more Darth Vader than the good side.”
Kelly was a fan favorite during his three years (2019-21) in Los Angeles, and not just because of his Southern California roots — he’s a Corona High graduate who played at UC Riverside — or because he gave up one earned run in 3? innings of five playoffs games to help the Dodgers win the 2020 World Series.
Dodgers fans loved Kelly’s vibe, from his catchy hip-hop entrance song — Tyga’s “Ayy Macarena” — to his brash mound presence, to the bespectacled, 6-foot-1, 175-pound right-hander’s penchant for intimidating hitters with occasional high-and-tight pitches.
Kelly wasn’t even on the Dodgers team that lost the 2017 World Series to the Astros, whose title was tainted by a sign-stealing scandal, but he achieved folk-hero status in Los Angeles by exacting a measure of revenge for his teammates and Dodgers fans in a July 2020 game at Houston.
Kelly sailed one fastball over Alex Bregman’s head and backed Yuli Gurriel off the plate with an inside breaking ball. He punctuated an inning-ending strikeout of Correa by screaming, “Nice swing, b—!”
The two exchanged glares and verbal jabs, after which Kelly pursed his lips and shot his much-memed pouty face at Correa, essentially telling the slugger to sit down and shut up. Benches cleared, and Kelly received an eight-game suspension for his role.
Minute Maid Park was empty that day because fans weren’t allowed in stadiums during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but fans and followers back home took notice, with Times columnist Bill Plaschke writing, “Bless you, Joe Kelly.”
That adoration was evident Saturday night when Kelly, in his first appearance for the Dodgers after the trade, received a rousing ovation as he entered a game against the Cincinnati Reds, and elicited an even louder roar when he struck out Will Benson with a 99-mph fastball with the bases loaded to end the sixth inning of an eventual 3-2 victory.
“Joe’s a different bird,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think he just rises to the bigger moments, and he thrives on taking on inherited runners. It wasn’t surprising, the ovation he got. He’s a fan favorite.”
But the Dodgers didn’t acquire the 12-year veteran for his popularity. While the bullpen found its footing in July with a 2.93 ERA — the third-best mark in the majors — after compiling a second-worst 4.98 ERA through June 18, the Dodgers needed another high-leverage arm to pair with right-handers Evan Phillips and Brusdar Graterol at the end of games.
“I’ve never had hard feelings when I’ve been traded or signed elsewhere. I understand that more than anybody. If you watch ‘Star Wars,’ I’m more Darth Vader than the good side.”
— Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly
Kelly went 2-8 with a 5.59 ERA and 1.470 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) in 74 games for the White Sox in 2022-23, including a 1-5 record and 4.97 ERA in 31 games this season, but his stuff might be better now than it was when he went 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA in 60 games for the Dodgers in 2020-21.
Kelly has boosted the average velocity of his two-seam sinking fastball from 97.9 mph in 2022 to 99 this season, and the average velocity of his slider (91.9) and curveball (89.4) is up too.
“We know Joe really well, and the stuff has been arguably the best it’s ever been; it’s elite,” general manager Brandon Gomes said. “His velocity is the highest it’s ever been. He’s added the slider. His four-seamer is playing as well as it ever has. And we love the [will to] compete.”
Kelly, who signed a two-year, $17-million deal with the White Sox before 2022, doesn’t think his record and ERA tell the whole story of this season in Chicago.
His 3.24 Fielding Independent Pitching stat, which measures a pitcher’s effectiveness at preventing home runs, walks and hit batters and producing strikeouts, was well below his career-average FIP of 3.88. His 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings match his career-best mark of 2022.
Neither he nor Lynn, who won his Dodgers debut Tuesday night, got much support from a White Sox defense that ranks second to last in baseball with minus-44 defensive runs saved, according to Sports Info Solutions.
“All everyone ever sees is wins and losses and ERA,” Kelly said. “They don’t see the other numbers that ultimately really matter, that show how good a pitcher really is.”
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One more thing the Dodgers like about Kelly: He is battle-tested. Kelly is 4-3 with a 3.55 ERA in 40 postseason games, and he pitched in all five of Boston’s World Series games against the Dodgers in 2018, giving up no runs and four hits, striking out 10 and walking none in six innings, to help the Red Sox win the championship.
Phillips has emerged as the Dodgers’ de facto closer and has an electric sweeper-cutter mix that he has used to the tune of a 2.21 ERA and 13 saves, accumulating 47 strikeouts and walking just nine in 40? innings. But the 28-year-old has pitched in only five playoff games.
“Evan has sort of evolved into the closer with the caveat that if we want to deploy him at any other time, we can still do that,” Roberts said. “Joe just adds another person that we feel confident can finish a game for us.”
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