Keone

Kela

Kela never made it back to the majors after signing a minor league contract with the White Sox back in April. The 32-year-old journeyman reliever last pitched in the big leagues back in 2021. He was lit up to the tune of an inflated 8.44 ERA across 16 innings (14 appearances) for Triple-A Charlotte before being cut loose over the weekend.

He’ll report to the team’s Arizona Complex league squad where he’ll work himself into game shape. The 32-year-old hurler spent the 2023 season in Japan and worked in the Mexican League in 2024 where he compiled a 2.70 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and a 40/6 K/BB ratio over 40 innings. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2021 but he does have 28 career saves under his belt. In the deepest of AL-only formats, he could be worth a look as an extremely speculative shot at saves.

Kela signed a minor league contract in September with the Dodgers after spending the majority of the season in the Diamondbacks’ system rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The 29-year-old right-hander has plenty of experience in high-leverage situations and will look to rebuild his value overseas in Korea this season.

Kela underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2021 and had allowed five earned runs in seven innings since returning to live action in July with the Triple-A affiliate of the Diamondbacks. The 29-year-old former Rangers closer is a reclamation project for the Dodgers, who’ve done a lot of amazing reclamations.

Kela underwent Tommy John surgery last May and probably won’t be an option for Arizona until closer to the midpoint of the 2022 regular season. He’s had success in the past as a late-inning reliever but there have been a string of physical ailments in recent years.

Kela had Tommy John surgery back in May and won’t be ready to contribute until at least the second half of next season. Some team will probably scoop him up on an incentive-laden deal.

The move was made on Sunday. Kela underwent Tommy John surgery last week and miss the remainder of the season. The Padres have an $800,000 club option on the reliever for next year, which should be an interesting call. It’s possible he could contribute in the second half of 2022.

The right-hander pitched just two innings in 2020 and the Padres were aware that Kela was a risk. Unfortunately, after missing time with shoulder tightness, the 27-year-old experienced some dreaded forearm tightness recently that often ends with surgery. San Diego will be without the high upside righty this season.

Kela left Friday’s game with forearm tightness, and the Padres unsurprisingly place him on the shelf a day later. The right-hander has been replaced on the roster by Miguel Diaz in a corresponding move. Kela had just been activated off the IL on May 3, and likely is going to miss at least a couple of weeks with this latest injury.

Not good. Kela failed to record an out and served up a solo homer to Austin Slater before being lifted from the contest in the seventh inning. There should be an update on his status this weekend, but it sounds like a trip to the injured list is likely.