Diamondbacks sign pitcher Merrill Kelly to two-year deal

The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed pitcher Merrill Kelly to a two-year contract.

The deal is worth $5.5 million and includes a pair of club options in 2021 and 2022, according to the team.

Kelly is a familiar name to the desert as he went to Desert Mountain High School and Yavapai College before playing for the Arizona State Sun Devils in 2010, going 10-3 with a 4.23 ERA.

“It’s pretty unbelievable. If you would have asked me four years ago when I left for Korea if I’d be sitting in my kitchen … knowing I would be able to play in the big leagues and not only in the big leagues but down the street from my house,” Kelly said after the signing went official. “I can’t really describe it at this point. It hasn’t really hit me yet.”

With the signing, he becomes the fifth player in franchise history to play high school, college and the big leagues all in Arizona.

Merrill Kelly slots in as a 4/5 starter for the Dbacks. Has a good fastball and wipe out off speed pitch. There were several teams interested in Kelly.

— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) December 5, 2018

The 30-year-old right-hander has not pitched in an MLB game — he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010 and played Triple-A ball — but has spent time over in the Korea Baseball Organization as a member of the SK Wyverns.

“We’ve watched Merrill a lot over the years in Korea, and even before that when he was over here in the minor leagues and of course at Arizona State,” D-backs assistant GM Jared Porter said after the signing. “We see a very good athlete, a very strong competitor, a pitcher that has gone to Korea in a tough place to pitch and tough environment and pitched very well.

“We feel like along with his performance, he’s also very developed over there.”

The pitcher went 12-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 2018, striking out 181 batters in the process.

In four seasons (119 games), Kelly has gone 48-32 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.31 WHIP.

The interest in the Kelly was reportedly “significant” and the team expects the pitcher to join the rotation.

“We feel like he can come into spring training and hopefully leave camp as a member of our rotation to start the season,” Porter said.

The news of the signing comes after starting pitcher Patrick Corbin reportedly agreed to a six-year deal worth more than $126 million with the Washington Nationals.

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