Ex-Red Sox Joe Kelly Willing To Do Shohei Ohtani Solid With Dodgers

Shohei Ohtani officially tore off the band-aid and revealed the most highly anticipated decision in Major League Baseball this offseason by signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

Making the move from the Angels to the Dodgers, Ohtani remains under the LA sunshine and new teammate Joe Kelly wants to do his part in helping the two-way phenom get acclimated.

Kelly last season wore No. 17 — Ohtani’s jersey number with the Angels — and is willing to allow Ohtani to continue sporting No. 17 with the Dodgers, according to WEEI’s Rob Bradford. Kelly mentioned that he hadn’t been directly told to give the number to Ohtani, but doing so is the expectation.

Unlike Ohtani, Kelly’s sported different numbers throughout his big league career. With the Boston Red Sox, Kelly wore No. 56 and with the St. Louis Cardinals, the right-hander wore No. 58. However, both of those are currently owned by Los Angeles pitchers Ryan Yarbrough and Gus Varland.

In other words, time for Kelly to get creative and debut a new number on the mound in 2024.

It should be an easy sacrafice considering the Dodgers, following up on their National League West-leading 100-62 run in 2023, are adding a once-in-a-lifetime talent in Ohtani to an already stacked roster with All-Stars Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Walker Buhler.

Ohtani was just named 2023 American League MVP — for the second time in his career — after leading the AL with 44 home runs while also pitching to a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts. That’s a combination of two-sided production that MLB hasn’t lived to see since Babe Ruth.

By the time the 2024 season kicks off, it’s likely Kelly won’t be mourning the jersey number loss — pending it does happen.