SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Right-hander Merrill Kelly has agreed to an $18 million, two-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks that covers the 2023 and 2024 seasons with a club option for 2025.
The 33-year-old Kelly will be paid $8 million per season in 2023 and 2024. He also gets a $1 million signing bonus and there's a $1 million buyout if the team doesn't exercise his option for 2025.
Kelly is from Scottsdale and played in college at Arizona State. He was arguably the team's best pitcher in 2021, going 7-11 with a 4.44 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 27 starts. He has a 23-27 record with a 4.27 ERA in three seasons with the D-backs.
Kelly spent four seasons with the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization from 2015 to 2018, going 48-32 with a 3.86 ERA in 119 games.
The Diamondbacks are trying to bounce back from a brutal season in 2021 when they went 52-110 and finished in last place in the NL West. They've locked up a few or their top internal pieces over the past few days, also signing second baseman Ketel Marte to a $76 million, five-year deal that starts in 2023 and ends in 2027.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made the State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers also play at the Footprint. Phoenix has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Cactus Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall; and Cactus League Spring Training.
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