The Los Angeles Dodgers signed left-handed pitcher Antoine Kelly to a minor league deal, according to the team’s transaction log on MLB.com.
Kelly spent the 2025 season with the Colorado Rockies, but elected free agency during the first week of November. Just over a week later, he joined the reigning back-to-back champion Dodgers on a minor league deal and was assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
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Kelly, 25, is yet to make his MLB debut after being drafted in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. The left-hander had a ton of promise, ranking as high as the Brewers’ No. 6 prospect in 2021, per MLB Pipeline.
Kelly was then traded to the Texas Rangers in 2022 along with infielder Mark Mathias for right-handed pitcher Matt Bush. Midway through the 2024 season, he was claimed off waivers by the Rockies. He spent the rest of the 2024 season with Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate, and then spent the entire 2025 season there, too.
Across 34 relief appearances this past season, Kelly went 3-5 with a 5.63 ERA. He had 41 strikeouts to 27 walks across 38.1 innings pitched.
Overall, across 67 career appearances at the Triple-A level, Kelly has accrued a 6.69 ERA. He’s struck out 83 batters while walking 59 across 70 innings pitched.
While Kelly is yet to show enough at the Triple-A level to warrant a call-up, the Dodgers clearly saw something they liked to give him an opportunity. The Dodgers are not taking on any risk by signing him to a minor league deal. Instead, the team will look to develop him into a serviceable major leaguer. If not, he can spend time in Triple-A Oklahoma City as organizational depth.
The Dodgers know better than any team how important it is to have pitching depth in the organization over the course of a 162-game season. This past season, a whopping 40 players pitched for the Dodgers, including multiple position players.
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