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Kelly, 28, who was born in Roanoke, surprised some this Spring Training and will kick off the new season on a Major League squad for the first time after making his debut in Boston last season.
This spring, Kelly earned his spot on the Opening Day roster after showing he can throw strikes with just four walks, and he was able to keep the ball in the park, allowing only one homer over 10 relief innings to earn his spot with the Sox.
Kelly cut his teeth playing for Lord Botetourt High School in Daleville before heading to Concord University to play Division II ball in neighboring West Virginia. He later transferred to Newberry College to play with the Wolves in South Carolina and was an undrafted free agent who signed for a $500 bonus with the Oakland A’s in 2017.
His professional career has been an up and down one, to say the least.
After catching on with the A’s, Kelly was later released, signed by the Angels, and then released again during the COVID-19 shutdown that cost baseball several months in 2020.
Kelly joined the Red Sox in 2021, where he impressed coming out of the bullpen, ultimately being invited to Spring Training last year as a non-roster invitee. After showing promise playing in AAA for Worcester, he was called up to the Big Leagues last summer, where he got his first career win and struck out 11 in limited action with a 3.95 ERA.
Having made the Red Sox out of Spring Training this year, the Red Sox reportedly plan to use Kelly as a multi-inning reliever coming out of the pen as Boston gears up to kick off the season at Fenway Park against the NL East rival Baltimore Orioles.
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