MERRILL KELLY NEWS

Wraps up Cactus League Kelly allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six over five innings in Saturday's spring start against the Giants.

Impact The Giants tagged Kelly for three consecutive home runs in the fourth inning of his final Cactus League start, but the right-hander told Manny Randhawa of MLB.com that this was the best he's felt all camp. The Diamondbacks rotation order hasn't been set beyond Opening Day starter Zac Gallen, but Kelly is considered to be part of the top three which also includes Corbin Burnes. That means he'll likely make his next start Thursday or Friday against the Cubs.

3 DAYS AGO • ROTOWIRE

Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly turns in 'most encouraging start'; roster battles continue Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly gave up three runs in five innings in what he called his 'most encouraging start so far' thi...

3 DAYS AGO • AZCENTRAL.COM

Works on slider Kelly allowed three runs on six hits while striking out four over 2.2 innings in Monday's spring start against the Angels.

Impact Kelly was tagged for all three runs in the second inning of his fourth Cactus League start. It was an efficient outing, as Kelly required 66 pitches to get those eight outs. He hinted to Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports that the high pitch count was partially due to a pitcher using spring contests to test out pitches he might not normally throw in certain situations during the regular season. Kelly worked on his slider Monday, throwing it 24 percent of the time. "I think that was one of the things I walked away with today, with how good it's been in spring," Kelly said. It's a pitch the right-hander hasn't used much during his career and only started introducing the last few seasons.

MARCH 18 • ROTOWIRE

Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly talks about his spring training outing vs the Angels Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly answers questions about his spring training outing against the Los Angeles Angels on March 17, 2025.

MARCH 18 • AZCENTRAL.COM

NL West Preview: Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Padres lead a loaded division

In the loaded NL West, Shohei Ohtani and the big-money Los Angeles Dodgers are still the team to beat

MARCH 17 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Scoreless spring outing Kelly allowed five hits while striking out one over 5.1 scoreless innings in Tuesday's spring start against the Royals.

Impact Kelly threw 48 pitches in his third Cactus League start, the same number of pitches he threw the last time out, March 7, against the Mariners. He navigated first-inning trouble with the help of his defense; a baserunner was caught attempting to steal and second one was picked off by Kelly, the third time he's picked off a runner this spring. After three spring outings, Kelly has a 2.35 ERA over 7.2 innings.

MARCH 12 • ROTOWIRE

Diamondbacks Merrill Kelly to Face Royals in Cactus League Action The veteran right-hander is making his third start of spring as the team enters the home stretch of spring training games in preparation for...

MARCH 11 • SI.COM

Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly breaks down his spring training outing against the Mariners Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly breaks down his spring training outing against the Seattle Mariners on March 6, 2025.

MARCH 7 • AZCENTRAL.COM

Gets three up-and-downs Kelly allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out three in Thursday's split-squad start against the Mariners.

Impact Kelly threw 48 pitches (30 strikes) in his second Cactus League outing. Getting that third up-and-down is what starters are shooting for at this stage of spring training, so from that standpoint, the outing was a success. Other than that, the right-hander allowed multiple baserunners in each of his first two innings and experienced a slight drop in velocity relative to his first spring outing.

MARCH 7 • ROTOWIRE

Kelly Gets His Work in, Lawlar Shines as D-backs Rout the Mariners The veteran Merrill Kelly progressed towards the opening week of the season and Jordan Lawlar continues to make noise when given the opportu...

MARCH 7 • SI.COM

Makes spring debut Kelly allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two over two innings in Friday's spring start against the Royals.

Impact This is the first time seeing Kelly in Cactus League action, and the 36-year-old right-hander showed extra juice on his fastball. He averaged 92 mph on his two- and four-seamers in 2024 but threw a number of fastballs of 94-plus. The uptick is velo is an encouraging sign for Kelly, who missed a large part of 2024 due to a shoulder injury. After pitching out of a first-inning ham, Kelly retired the side in order in his second frame.

MARCH 1 • ROTOWIRE

Diamondbacks game report: Corbin Carroll stays hot, Ryne Nelson makes Cactus League debut Arizona Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly and RHP Ryne Nelson each made their Cactus League debuts and both threw two scoreless innings.

MARCH 1 • AZCENTRAL.COM

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly details his 2025 Cactus League debut Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly discusses what his two-inning, scoreless 2025 Cactus League debut was like on Feb. 28, 2...

MARCH 1 • AZCENTRAL.COM

'It feels good': Kelly sees uptick in velocity in spring debut SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- D-backs right-hander Merrill Kelly displayed an uptick in velocity Friday afternoon in his first Cactus League appearan...

FEBRUARY 28 • MLB.COM

Merrill Kelly Looked Sharp and Powerful in Spring Debut for D-backs The veteran right-hander was in top form for his first two-inning stint of the Cactus League.

FEBRUARY 28 • SI.COM

Corbin Burnes strikes out all 3 batters he faces in spring training debut with Diamondbacks

Four-time All-Star Corbin Burnes had a stellar spring training debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks, striking out all three Colorado batters he faced

FEBRUARY 21 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ace Corbin Burnes joins the Diamondbacks, who are `stretching the budget' to compete in NL West

Even though it had been nearly three weeks since ace right-hander Corbin Burnes had agreed with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a $210 million, six-year deal, it was still a little stu...

JANUARY 15 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Corbin Burnes' $210 million, 6-year deal with D-backs includes $64 million deferred through 2036

Right-hander Corbin Burnes’ $210 million, six-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks includes $64 million in deferred payments due from 2031-36, according to details obtained...

JANUARY 2 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Corbin Burnes and D-backs finalize $210 million, 6-year deal that's the richest in team history

Four-time All-Star pitcher Corbin Burnes and the Arizona Diamondbacks have finalized their $210 million, six-year contract

DECEMBER 31, 2024 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Corbin Burnes and Arizona Diamondbacks agree to $210 million, 6-year deal, AP source says

Corbin Burnes and the Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a $210 million, six-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press

DECEMBER 28, 2024 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Montgomery exercises $22.5M option with D-backs, Pederson opts out, AP source says

A person familiar with the decisions tells The Associated Press

NOVEMBER 2, 2024 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

D-backs pick up option The Diamondbacks exercised Kelly's $7 million club option for 2025 on Saturday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Impact After missing a four-month chunk of the season due to a shoulder injury, Kelly finished 2024 with a 4.03 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 73.2 innings over 13 starts. Hopeful for a bounce-back campaign in 2025, the D-backs will keep the 36-year-old righty around to bolster a pitching staff that ranked 27th in the majors with a 4.62 ERA.

NOVEMBER 2, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Diamondbacks to part ways with pitching coach Brent Strom and 2 others after missing playoffs

The Arizona Diamondbacks are shaking up their coaching staff after falling just short of the playoffs

OCTOBER 4, 2024 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly on team's elimination from wild-card contention Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly on the final day of the 2024 regular season and his team being eliminated from MLB playoff conten...

OCTOBER 1, 2024 • AZCENTRAL.COM

Takes first loss Kelly (5-1) allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out eight over 5.2 innings, taking the loss versus the Padres on Friday.

Impact Kelly left his last start due to a right calf cramp, but it wasn't a lasting issue for the right-hander. He was shaky in the first inning Friday, allowing four of the five runs and four of the eight hits on his line as the Padres tagged him for four runs early. He also gave up an RBI triple to Luis Arraez in the fourth. Kelly wraps up his injury-plagued regular season with a 4.03 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 63:19 K:BB over 73.2 innings across 13 starts after missing nearly four months with a shoulder injury.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2024 • ROTOWIRE