The Joe Kelly bidding war lost another bidder. And not because they wouldn’t pay the price. In an interview released today on Baseball Isn’t Boring (great podcast, Rob Bradford loves baseball), the legendary reliever said he wouldn’t sign with the Yankees if they reached out.
We’ve been wondering about Joe Kelly’s potential retirement, and from the sounds of the interview, not a lot on that front has changed. He’s still throwing, trying to work back to 100%, but he doesn’t know if he wants to come back or not, and he’d need to be at 100% for it to happen. He’s enjoying coaching his son’s travel team. He likes being home in Southern California. He’s a busy dad of four. He did say he’ll miss the drug tests when he eventually hangs it up, but who wouldn’t miss getting paid to pee?
At this point, there are three possibilities for Joe Kelly’s 2025: Either he signs with the Dodgers, he formally or informally retires, or he signs with a surprise team like the Angels or Diamondbacks. It’s likeliest that any signing would happen with the season already underway. That’s when he’ll be ready and that’s when teams will need pitching. Especially the Dodgers, who have that habit of shredding UCL’s, like a nice marinated chicken breast or some slow-cooked pork.
So, we continue to wait. We continue to hope. And we continue to listen to Baseball Isn’t Boring, soaking in every Joe Kelly mention we can get. Hopefully it isn’t over. But if we’ve seen the last of Joe Kelly on an MLB mound, how fortunate we were to cross paths with that cosmic stream of light, joy, and fastballs.
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