Jorge Castillo
Free agent right-hander Merrill Kelly, after being dealt by the Diamondbacks to the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline last season, is returning to Arizona on a two-year, $40 million deal, a source confirmed to ESPN amid multiple media reports.
He’ll slot back into the top of the Diamondbacks’ rotation, which last week added free-agent right-hander Michael Soroka on a one-year, $7.5 million deal for depth. Right-handers Ryne Nelson and Brandon Pfaadt and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez round out the projected group.
Kelly, 37, previously spent six-plus seasons with the Diamondbacks, joining the club after four seasons in South Korea that resurrected a career that had stalled in Triple A. He posted a 3.74 ERA in 162 starts for Arizona and was a stalwart in the team’s run to the 2023 World Series, striking out 28 with a 2.25 ERA over 24 postseason innings.
Kelly is viewed as a grind-it-out innings eater but doesn’t boast big raw stuff. His changeup is his best pitch by a wide margin, and he gets by with location and off-speed stuff. He went a combined 12-9 with a 3.42 ERA with 167 strikeouts across 32 starts last season for the Diamondbacks and Rangers.
Texas sent three minor-league pitchers to Arizona for Kelly — left-handers Kohl Drake and Mitch Bratt and right-hander David Hagaman — for a postseason push that eventually fell short with an 81-81 record. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, traded Kelly as part of a firesale that included dealing everyday mainstays Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor but still managed to remain in playoff contention until the final week of the regular season, finishing 80-82.
Overall, Kelly is 65-53 with a 3.77 ERA and 911 strikeouts in 1,008⅓ innings over seven MLB seasons.
The Diamondbacks began their offseason by re-signing veteran catcher James McCann to a one-year contract to serve as Gabriel Moreno’s backup. The organization is also exploring trading second baseman Ketel Marte, according to sources. The 32-year-old All-Star is owed $102.5 million over the next six seasons and should fetch Arizona a substantial haul.
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers and Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.
