Kenny

Kelly

It’s Kelly’s first outright assignment, so he wasn’t able to elect for free agency.

Kelly hit .356/.441/.545 in 51 games for Double-A Chattanooga and .254/.318/.440 in 78 games for Triple-A Louisville last season. The former University of Miami quarterback used to be promising, but it now appears he’s destined to spend his career in the minors.

Tyrell Godwin can’t be happy to be passed over for Kelly after having such a good season for New Orleans. Kelly is the older of the two by half a year and it’s hard to imagine having a future in the organization. He shouldn’t be much more than a pinch-runner.

The Nationals claimed Kelly off waivers in July and gave him some time in the majors then and again in September even though they had better outfielders in Triple-A. He’ll open next year with another club’s Triple-A team.

Kelly isn’t really a prospect any longer and wasn’t contributing much in Triple-A despite a high batting average, so stay away in NL-only leagues.

Kelly, the former University of Miami quarterback, was hitting a pretty empty .327 for Triple-A Louisville. It’s the first time the 26-year-old has had any success in Triple-A, but his 822 OPS is hardly anything to get excited about. He doesn’t figure to have much luck against major league pitching, so there’s no good reason to pick him up in NL-only leagues.

The Reds face Atlanta lefty Horacio Ramirez.

Kelly had replaced Ken Griffey Jr. with the Reds up big against the Cardinals. After he left, Jacob Cruz came in to play right and Wily Mo Pena shifted to center.

Kelly might be ready to return in four to six weeks, but it could be considerably longer than that before he makes another appearance in the majors.

He’s in Louisville recovering from knee surgery and could return within the next month.