After being dealt at the trade deadline last season, free agent pitcher Merrill Kelly is rejoining the Arizona Diamondbacks on a 2 year, $40M deal the team announced.
It’s a big win for the Diamondbacks, who return a steady, back of the rotation arm for a pitching group that is in need of innings eaters, following the deadline day deal which netted them 3 prospects from the Texas Rangers. Arizona received LHP Kohl Drake, and Mitch Bratt as well as RHP David Hagaman from Texas as part of the previously completed deal.
Overall Kelly went 12-9 with a 3.42 ERA and 167 Ks across 32 starts in 2025. The 37 year old won’t blow you away with his raw power on the mound, but was a dependable arm for a team that was ravaged by injuries last season.
Kelly figures to join a rotation of Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson and the recently signed Michael Soroka in the desert this season. Ace Corbin Burnes, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2025, is expected to be sidelined for most of the 2026 MLB campaign, leaving a massive void of innings that needed to be filled this offseason.
If GM Mike Hazen doesn’t make any additional moves, it would appear as though the team now has their rotation set for Spring Training. It remains to be seen what the team has in mind for the aforementioned Bratt and Drake combo. Both players figure to get a look this offseason, but may require some additional seasoning at AAA.
Beyond the 5 man rotation, the D-Backs don’t have a ton of additional starting pitching options currently on the roster, leading many to believe that the club may continue to kick the tires on some lower cost veteran arms over the coming weeks.
Photo: Barry Stahl. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.