Prior to Friday’s opening bout against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced a pair of roster moves. Right-hander Joe Kelly was placed on the bereavement list while outfielder Kyle Garlick was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take his place on the 25-man roster.
According to the rules of Major League Baseball’s bereavement list, Kelly must miss a minimum of three games and a maximum of seven while he tends to a personal matter. Thus, at the very least, he was ruled out for the entirety of the Dodgers’ three-game series with the Pirates.
While his unavailability temporarily stunts the bullpen, Kelly’s absence may not extend past this weekend.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expects the right-hander to rejoin the club ahead of Monday’s Memorial Day matchup with the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium, via SportsNet LA:
“I expect Kelly to be back on Monday when we’re back at home.”
With Kelly out for the time being, the Dodgers’ bullpen took a bit of a short-term hit. The group had already been without the services of Pedro Baez, who suffered a right upper leg contusion on Tuesday after taking a 103 mph line drive to his knee off the bat of Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Willy Adames.
Baez made quick strides in his recovery, however, and managed to avoid a stint on the 10-day injured list. Baez appeared in the series finale on Sunday and worked around a walk to complete a scoreless inning.
Baez’s injury aside, Kelly’s absence was particularly disappointing considering that he had been pitching considerably better as of late. Over his last four appearances, the 30-year-old has allowed just one hit and one run over four innings of work.
For the season, Kelly has pitched to a 7.79 ERA, 4.59 FIP and 1.73 WHIP with 17 strikeouts and six walks in 17.1 innings (17 appearances).
As for why the Dodgers recalled a position player in Garlick to assume Kelly’s void on the roster, Roberts opined that Ross Stripling and Julio Urias’ ability to log multiple innings in the bullpen allowed the club to go in that direction.
