There’s a cloud looming over tonight’s game, and it’s larger than the one of whether or not the Dodgers will be eliminated. The cloud which looms is this:
Joe Kelly may not be long for Los Angeles.
I believe the contract details are as follows: The Dodgers can either pay Joe Kelly $12 million to pitch for them next year, or they can pay Joe Kelly $4 million to go become a free agent. It’s an $8 million choice, which is roughly around what you’d expect the market to pay Joe Kelly. However, the Dodgers have their own needs, and their own supply of relievers coming up from the farm, and their own valuations on Kelly, and the market is a bit uncertain as we await renegotiation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Will the Dodgers pick up the option? We don’t know. Will Joe Kelly be a Dodger next year? We also don’t know.
It’s possible the Dodgers will buy Joe Kelly out and then re-sign him for less than $8M. But it’s also possible he’s bound for the open market, which makes tonight even more dramatic and uncertain than your standard playoff elimination game.
Our guy will likely get at least an inning. It’s a bullpen game, after all, and what is a bullpen without a Joe Kelly?
That last question is one the Dodgers may have just weeks to answer. (I don’t know when they have to make the call on the option but I feel like it has to be pretty quick, right?)
