The Reds have selected the right-hander’s contract Julia Kellyaccording to a club statement. Right-handed Alan Busenitz was designated for assignment to make room for Kelly in the club’s 40-man active roster.
Kelly, 34, was selected in the first round of the 2008 draft and was a top-100 prospect when he began his professional career with the Red Sox. Kelly received Anthony Rizzo in the deal that brought Adrian Gonzalez from San Diego to Boston, and Kelly’s pedigree as a top pitching talent helped him to the major leagues in just his second year with the Padres. His major league debut left much to be desired, as Kelly pitched 29 innings in six starts for the Padres during the 2012 season, posting a lackluster 6.21 ERA. Tommy John surgery derailed Kelly’s entire 2013 season, and he didn’t make it back to the major leagues until 2015, when he allowed 13 runs (10 earned) in just 11 1/3 innings in three appearances.
That ended Kelly’s time with the Padres, and although he briefly found a role as a multi-inning relief pitcher with the Braves during the 2016 season, he didn’t find major league success until 2018, six years after his major league debut. In San Francisco, Kelly did quite well while alternating between the rotation and bullpen, but even that success was short-lived, as his 3.04 ERA spanned just seven appearances and 23 2/3 innings. Kelly’s brief stint with the Giants obviously earned him some overseas attention, however, as after parting ways with the Giants, he pitched for parts of six seasons for the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization.
In Korea, Kelly was a rotation star, making between 27 and 30 starts each year from 2019-2023, never posting an ERA above 3.83. Kelly reportedly received some interest from the U.S. this past offseason, but decided to stay overseas, although his sixth season in the KBO didn’t go particularly well, as he struggled to a 4.51 ERA in 19 starts before being released last month. That led him back to affiliated ball, where he signed a minor league contract with the Reds and was sent to Triple-A Louisville. Managed by his father, Pat Kelly, while pitching for Louisville, Kelly performed decently in two starts, posting a 4.50 ERA despite a strikeout rate of just 5.6%. Recent injuries to Hunter Greene And Andrew Abbott have now opened the door for Kelly, who will play in the Major League for the first time since 2018. The experienced player should provide Cincinnati with more innings depth from the bullpen, while the club uses a patchwork rotation with Julian Aguilar and Carson Spires next to Nick Lodolo And Nick Martinez.
Busenitz, who is leaving the club after playing just once in the major leagues this year, makes room for Kelly on the 40-man and active rosters. In a disastrous relief appearance for the Reds yesterday, the right-hander gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits and failed to strike out a batter in his only inning. Busenitz also pitched for the Reds last year and did quite well in a limited role, posting a 2.57 ERA and 2.26 FIP in seven innings. Busenitz’s time with the Reds was his first taste of major league action in nearly half a decade, as he played for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for four seasons from 2019-2022. Busenitz gained most of his limited major league experience before his time overseas, when he posted a mediocre 4.58 ERA in 51 appearances in Minnesota during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
