Reliever Keone Kela reportedly agrees to contract with Diamondbacks
Mar 16, 2022, 8:24 AM
Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Keone Kela, left, talks with catcher Jacob Stallings after walking Cincinnati Reds' Tucker Barnhart during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Free agent reliever Keone Kela on Wednesday agreed to a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman adds it is a minor-league deal and Kela is projected to be available to play midseason.
Kela appeared in 12 games for the San Diego Padres in 2021 and underwent Tommy John surgery in May. Right forearm issues limited him to three games played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020.
Before the run of injury issues, Kela was an effective relief pitcher for most of his first six MLB seasons.
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Over 243 total games, the right-hander holds a 3.33 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. He has a 3.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his career.
Kela spent most of his first four seasons with the Texas Rangers from 2015-18, then joined the Pirates from 2018-2020.
With Arizona, Kela could potentially join the revamped bullpen midseason should his rehab from surgery progress as expected.
The D-backs were aggressive in attending to their bullpen even before the lockout hit, as they signed veteran reliever Mark Melancon in December.
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