What does age have to do with Gallen attracting more attention than Kelly? Thirty-six-year-old reverse exports have accelerated

Jul 12, 2025

What does age have to do with Gallen attracting more attention than Kelly? Thirty-six-year-old reverse exports have accelerated
Arizona Diamondbacks Merrill Kelly breathes while pitching in Game 2 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers on Oct. 29, 2023 (Korea time). He won his first World Series appearance with nine strikeouts and one run in seven innings. AP Yonhap News



What does age have to do with Gallen attracting more attention than Kelly? Thirty-six-year-old reverse exports have accelerated
Arizona Diamondbacks Jack Gallen. AP Yonhap News
Arizona Diamondbacks Merrill Kelly, who is in the spotlight as KBO's No. 1 reverse export, was also mentioned as a strong trade player.

MLB.com posted on the 12th (Korea time) that 'We need a pitcher? Arizona one-two punch Kelly and Jack Gallen were identified as the leading starting duo in the trade in a corner titled 'About 20 starters to be on the trade market'.

It was the fourth mention after Los Angeles Angels Tyler Anderson-Kyle Hendricks, Athletics Luis Severino-Jeffrey Springs and Milwaukee Brewers Freddie Peralta-Jose Kintana.




MLB.com says the Diamondbacks are competing for the NL wild card, but the top six teams over Arizona for the third spot are competing. Therefore, we need to keep Kelly and Gallen together and boost our performance as much as we can for the rest of July.'" The two pitchers will become FA at the end of this season. If Arizona decides to sell them, it could be traded in the trade market.

The reason why the attention is on Kelly rather than the existing ace Gallen is that he is playing the ace role in Arizona this year. In other words, there is a high possibility that he will transfer in the FA market after this season for a high ransom. In other words, Arizona, which spent 'big money' on recruiting FA Corbyn Burns last winter, has no choice but to trade if it believes it is difficult to advance to the playoffs this year, rather than catching Kelly.

What does age have to do with Gallen attracting more attention than Kelly? Thirty-six-year-old reverse exports have accelerated
Arizona Diamondbacks Merrill Kelly throws the ball vigorously against the San Francisco Giants on the 3rd (Korea time). AP Yonhap News
Another media outlet, The Athletic, also said, `If the Milwaukee Brewers talk about trade with Arizona, they will be able to discuss Gallen and Kelly besides Eugenio Suarez.' However, even if they return to sellers, they will not sell both Gallen and Kelly, according to an official familiar with Arizona news. Corbyn Burns and Jordan Montgomery are already out of power. There aren't enough young pitchers to make it through the season if they let both Gallen and Kelly go.




The media then said that Gallen, who has shown signs of reversal in his last two appearances, will be more interested than Kelly. Kelly, 36, has a 3.77 ERA in 159 games since coming from the KBO. He keeps getting better. He used four of his top five fastest pitches in his most recent appearance, he predicted.

Gallen is more interesting than Kelly because of his age, which has attracted other teams. Gallen was born in August 1995, seven years younger than Kelly.

However, Kelly threw four fastballs over 95.5 miles against the San Diego Padres on the 9th, which ranked second to fifth in his career arrest ranking. At that time, he showed that his pace did not slow down even in the middle of summer by pitching four hits and one run in seven innings.




What does age have to do with Gallen attracting more attention than Kelly? Thirty-six-year-old reverse exports have accelerated
메릴 켈리. AFP Yonhap News
Kelly is 7-5 with a 3.41 ERA, 107 strikeouts, WHIP 1.05, a 0.213 hit rate and bWAR 2.7 in 19 games this season. Many wins, ERA, pitching innings, strikeouts, and bWAR are all No. 1 in the team.

Kelly was born in October 1988 and is 36 years old this year. If a long-term contract is signed in the FA market, it will be applied from the 37-year-old season, and the aging curve must be taken into account. Of course, looking at the pitching so far, it is not a stage where you can worry about the decline in skills with age. A three- to four-year contract seems easy.

Kelly was out at the end of April last year due to a right shoulder injury and returned in August. He is completely out of his shoulder injury. Kelly became a winning pitcher in Game 2 of the 2023 World Series against the Texas Rangers with three hits, nine strikeouts, and one run in seven innings. In that year, he pitched 24 innings in four playoff games, posting a 2.25 ERA and 28 strikeouts, and had experience in fall baseball. If the team is aiming to advance to the playoffs, it is inferior to the 2nd or 3rd starter.

Kelly has never received an annual salary of $10 million since he left the KBO and made his major league debut in 2019. It can be said that it has been treated undervalued compared to its ability. The cumulative annual salary for seven years in Arizona is only $38.5 million, and there is a possibility of a big hit at the end of this year.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.