The Arizona Diamondbacks will need to make some moves this offseason to shore up a pitching staff that endured injury and underperformance in the 2026 season.
In the process of that season, long-tenured veteran right-hander Merrill Kelly (then a pending free agent) was traded at the Deadline to the Texas Rangers.
Naturally, after a beloved, long-time D-back departs, the speculation begins to flow. Kelly may a prime candidate for a reunion deal, if the price is right.
A recent article by Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer broke down some of the “educated guesses” of where each prominent free agent might sign this offseason.
When Rymer got to Kelly, the Diamondbacks were listed as the “ideal” landing spot for the veteran righty — predicting a two-year, $28 million deal.
“As he just turned 37 in October, Kelly is at that age where he can’t expect more than a two- or three-year deal. If he waits too long, even one of those might not materialize,” Rymer wrote.
“The Diamondbacks need pitching, and they obviously have more familiarity with Kelly than any other team. He’s also an Arizona man, as he played high school ball in Scottsdale and college ball in Prescott and Tempe long before he made his way to Phoenix to pitch for the D-backs.”
Kelly is not like other reunion candidates. The speculation of a return comes from more than the fact that fans miss watching their six-year mainstay suit up every fifth day.
Rymer’s contrack projection lands a little on the high end, but that doesn’t mean getting a pitcher with Kelly’s track record for less than $20 million a season is a poor deal.
There may be some restrictions as to what the D-backs can do with their payroll, but it’s likely they’ll have to turn to the trade market to land a high-end starting pitcher.
Utilizing what little payroll is left on Kelly provides one thing — stability. He’s been worth north of three WAR in three of the past four seasons, with the lone exception being an injury-shortened 2024.
Kelly may not pitch at his highest possible level this upcoming season. He’s 37, and had a rough two months with the Rangers, pitching to a 4.23 ERA over 10 outings.
But as a whole, he still posted a 3.52 full-season ERA. Even accounting for some amount of regression, Arizona could well use the length and reliability that Kelly provides.
Kelly’s peripherals have backed up his ERA output, as well. For each of the past four seasons, Kelly’s FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) has been no more than 0.56 worse than his raw ERA.
Prior to the Deadline, Kelly told Diamondbacks On SI’s Jack Sommers that he would be “extremely” open to a return if he was traded.
“I wouldn’t harbor any type of hard feelings if I got traded. At this point in my career, my focus is to win. I don’t know how many years I’m still gonna be doing this after this year. So that’s my priority.”
“The front office knows how fond I am of being here and being home. I know my wife is fond of being here and being home. Regardless of what happens after the 31st, being here is never off the table,” Kelly said.
It’s not hometown bias. Kelly was the right fit for Arizona while he was in Sedona Red, and he still is now.
Leave a Reply