There’s no doubt that Los Angeles Dodgers fans came to love reliever Joe Kelly during his time with the team. Kelly has been known to have a bit of a feisty streak in him. One of his most fame moments was when he walked off the mound of a playoff game against the Houston Astros.

Kelly heard some chirping from the Astros’ dugout and said a couple of choice words in that direction. It led to players from both teams taking the field, but no real punches were thrown.

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Kelly has loved playing for the Dodgers, too. He missed the back end of the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series championship season as Kelly was on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder.

But Kelly has made it clear that the only team he would pitch for is Los Angeles.

On Monday, though, Kelly made some news.

Kelly, while being a guest on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, told host Rob Bradford this: “I ain’t playing.” Kelly also added that “athletes don’t — we just stop f***ing playing, OK? Let’s cancel the word retirement.”

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So, while Kelly didn’t want to use the retirement word, it sure sounds like his MLB career has come to an end. There’s been no news out of the Dodgers’ organization about Kelly being brought back. And that probably got squashed even more after Los Angeles signed fire-balling reliever Edwin Díaz to a two-year contract.

If this is really the end for Kelly, then he put together some pretty good numbers. He had a 54-38 overall record with a 3.98 ERA. Kelly made 46 appearances in the 2023-24 seasons with Los Angeles.

Back in 2019-21, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts turned to Kelly a lot out of the bullpen. In the 2020 World Series championship season, which was shortened due to the pandemic, Kelly was lights-out in five postseason appearances. Kelly only gave up one run in that span.

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When the Dodgers look back at some of their success in recent seasons, then Kelly’s name should be among those players who contributed in a big way.

Kelly also has a bit of a humorous streak in him, too. He’s been a pretty funny podcast guest, especially when he shows up on “Baseball Isn’t Boring.” Don’t be surprised if Kelly finds a way to be a regular on this podcast, or even start one on his own.

Dodgers fans will always have a soft spot in their hearts for Kelly, even if he didn’t always perform at the top of his game.