As the 5 p.m. trade deadline drew near, the Texas Rangers’ only acquisition was relief pitcher Danny Coulombe.
But Chris Young got busy in the closing minutes. The Rangers landed Merrill Kelly in a deal with the Diamondbacks, boosting a starting rotation that already ranked as baseball’s best.
So far in 2025, the 36-year-old Kelly has a 9-6 record with a 3.22 ERA in 22 starts. Among National League pitchers in 2025, his 3.2 bWAR ranks eighth, his 1.057 WHIP ranks seventh and his 128 ⅔ innings rank sixth. He’ll likely slot into the Rangers’ rotation behind co-aces Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. Since May, Kelly sports a 2.81 ERA and a nearly 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk rate.
Here are five things to know about the Rangers’ newest starting pitcher.
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1. The basics
Name: Kenneth Merrill Kelly
Born: Oct. 14, 1988 in Houston, Texas
Ht.: 6-2 Wt.: 202 lb
College: Yavapai College, Arizona State
Draft: 8th round, 2010 (Tampa Bay Rays)
2. What the Rangers gave up
Acquiring a pitcher like Kelly didn’t happen without a cost for Chris Young and the Rangers.
Kelly had about $2.3 million remaining of his $7 million salary, causing the Rangers to go over the $241 million CBT threshold, something Texas has actively avoided since the offseason.
On top of that, the Rangers sent Arizona three minor league pitchers: LHP Kohl Drake, their closest-ready minor league starter, rising prospect David Hagaman and LHP Mitch Bratt. It’s safe to say the trade for Kelly was a vote of confidence in the team as the Rangers enter the home stretch in a tight playoff race.
3. World Series foe
The most notable start of Kelly’s career came against the Rangers in the 2023 World Series at Globe Life Field.
In Game 2, Kelly pitched seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball in the Diamondbacks’ 9-1 win over Texas. He struck out nine batters and didn’t walk anyone in his World Series gem. The only run he allowed came on a solo home run hit by Mitch Garver.
Related:Rangers’ bats go quiet in World Series Game 2 gem from Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly
His World Series gem had some good company, too. Only seven other pitchers in World Series history had ever thrown seven innings with that many strikeouts and no walks. Kelly finished the Diamondbacks’ playoff run with a 3-1 record in four starts with a 2.25 ERA.
Of course, Kelly’s Game 2 win was Arizona’s first and only win of the 2023 World Series. The Rangers went on to win Games 3-5 and claim the first championship in franchise history.
4. International pitcher
Kelly’s journey to the major leagues was anything but linear.
After being selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2010 MLB draft, he spent a few years slowly working his way up the minor league system, but never made it past Triple-A. Ahead of the 2015 season he signed with the SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization.
He spent four seasons with that club, compiling a 48-32 record and 3.86 ERA and helping SK Wyverns win the 2018 Korean Series. After the 2018 season, he became a free agent and signed a two-year deal with the Diamondbacks.
After being drafted in 2010, he finally made his MLB debut on April 1, 2019 at the age of 30. Kelly allowed just three runs in six innings against the Padres, earning a quality start and a win in his first big-league outing for the Diamondbacks.
5. Three-time draftee
The Rays weren’t the only team to draft Kelly.
The Baltimore Orioles selected him in the 37th round of the 2007 MLB draft out of Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, Ariz, but didn’t sign. Two years later, Kelly was taken again, this time by the Cleveland Indians in the 22nd round of the 2009 draft out of Yavapai College, a community college he had been pitching at.
He didn’t sign with the Indians and elected to transfer to Arizona State, where he pitched for two years before being drafted by the Rays.
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