Free agent right-hander Merrill Kelly, after being dealt by the Diamondbacks to the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline last season, is returning to Arizona on a two-year, $40 million deal, a source confirmed to ESPN amid multiple media reports.
He’ll slot back into the top of the Diamondbacks’ rotation, which last week added free agent right-hander Michael Soroka on a one-year, $7.5 million deal for depth. Right-handers Ryne Nelson and Brandon Pfaadt and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez round out the projected group.
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Kelly, 37, previously spent six-plus seasons with the Diamondbacks, joining the club after four seasons in South Korea that resurrected a career that had stalled in Triple-A. He posted a 3.74 ERA in 162 starts for Arizona and was a stalwart in the team’s run to the 2023 World Series, striking out 28 with a 2.25 ERA over 24 postseason innings.
Kelly is viewed as a grind-it-out innings eater but doesn’t boast big raw stuff. His changeup is his best pitch by a wide margin, and he gets by with location and off-speed stuff. He went a combined 12-9 with a 3.42 ERA with 167 strikeouts across 32 starts last season for the Diamondbacks and Rangers.
Texas sent three minor league pitchers to Arizona for Kelly — left-handers Kohl Drake and Mitch Bratt and right-hander David Hagaman — for a postseason push that eventually fell short with an 81-81 record. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, traded Kelly as part of a fire sale that included dealing everyday mainstays Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor, but they still managed to remain in playoff contention until the final week of the regular season, finishing 80-82.
Kelly is 65-53 with a 3.77 ERA and 911 strikeouts in 1,008⅓ innings over seven MLB seasons.
The Diamondbacks began their offseason by re-signing veteran catcher James McCann to a one-year contract to serve as Gabriel Moreno’s backup. The organization is also exploring trading second baseman Ketel Marte, according to sources. The 32-year-old All-Star is owed $102.5 million over the next six seasons and should fetch Arizona a substantial haul.
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers and Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.
