The Rockies claimed Kelly off waivers from the Rangers on Monday.
Colorado designated left-hander Josh Rogers for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Kelly, a 24-year-old southpaw who offers more long-term upside but has struggled mightily in the minors this season. Between stops with Triple-A Round Rock and Double-A Frisco, Kelly has posted a 9.35 ERA and 24:22 K:BB in 17.1 innings.
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Rangers' Antoine Kelly: Jettisoned from 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Rangers designated Kelly for assignment Monday.
Kelly, 24, has had a rough 2024 campaign, first missing time with a shoulder issue and then posting a 9.35 ERA and 24:22 K:BB across 17.1 innings. However, the left-hander thrived in 2023 upon a full-time move to relief, collecting a 2.04 ERA and 79:23 K:BB over 57.1 frames between the Double- and Triple-A levels. Kelly should draw interest via trade or waivers.
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Rangers' Antoine Kelly: Returns from IL on Friday
Rotowire
Kelly (shoulder) was reinstated from the 7-day injured list Friday and struck out one over a scoreless inning of relief in Triple-A Round Rock's 13-1 win over Albuquerque.
Kelly was shelved for just under a month with a shoulder injury before he returned to action for Round Rock earlier this week. The southpaw has made four appearances out of the Triple-A bullpen this season, striking out six while allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks over 3.2 innings.
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Rangers' Antoine Kelly: Heads to minors camp
Rotowire
The Rangers optioned Kelly to Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.
Texas thought enough of Kelly this winter to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft and add him to the 40-man roster, but the 24-year-old lefty still needs more developmental time in the minors. He covered 59.1 innings between Round Rock and Double-A Frisco in 2023 but saw the majority of his action with the latter affiliate, logging a 2.22 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 72:26 K:BB in 52.2 frames out of the bullpen.
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Rangers' Antoine Kelly: Added to 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Rangers selected Kelly to their 40-man roster Tuesday.
Kelly pitched to a dominant 2.04 ERA and 79:23 K:BB across 57.1 innings of relief this past year between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A A Round Rock. The young left-hander could factor into the bullpen mix in Texas in the early part of the 2024 campaign.
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Rangers' Antoine Kelly: Added by Rangers
Rotowire
Kelly and Mark Mathias were traded to the Rangers from the Brewers on Monday in exchange for reliever Matt Bush, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Kelly was considered one of the Brewers' better pitching prospects, particularly after striking out 119 batters over 91.0 High-A innings this season. The Rangers will immediately give him a chance at the next level, as according to Kennedi Landry of MLB.com he will report to Double-A Frisco.
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Brewers' Antoine Kelly: Facing live hitters
Rotowire
Kelly (shoulder) threw 20-to-30 pitches against live hitters Tuesday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
The young southpaw is recovering from surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in November, and it was his first time pitching against hitters since undergoing the procedure. Kelly made one appearance at Low-A to close 2019 and spent last season at Milwaukee's alternate training site. He appears to be nearing the final stages of his recovery, so a rehab assignment could come soon.
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Brewers' Antoine Kelly: Resumes throwing
Rotowire
Kelly (shoulder) has completed three bullpen sessions at the Brewers' extended spring training facility in Arizona, but he remains without a clear timeline for making his 2021 debut, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.
The 21-year-old lefty is likely to miss a large portion of the 2021 season after undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in the fall, but it's at least encouraging that he no longer remains shut down from throwing. Given the severity of Kelly's shoulder procedure, the Brewers are likely to bring him along slowly before clearing him to make regular starts at Low-A Carolina.
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Brewers' Antoine Kelly: Recovering from surgery
Rotowire
Kelly underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in November and isn't expected to be ready for the start of the minor-league season, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
The 21-year-old is without an official timeline for his return, though he's expected to take the mound sometime over the summer. Kelly was drafted in the second round by the Brewers in 2019 and spent most of 2019 at rookie ball, where he compiled a 1.26 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 41:5 K:BB over 28.2 innings. He worked at the alternate training site last season.
