7 years and 65 wins, ERA 3.77 and only 2 years of contract? Why Kelly Is Undervalued

Nov 05, 2025

7 years and 65 wins, ERA 3.77 and only 2 years of contract? Why Kelly Is Undervalued
Texas Rangers Merrill Kelly starts and pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers on September 11 (Korea Standard Time). AP Yonhap News



Merrill Kelly, who has been in the spotlight as the first case of KBO's reverse export, has qualified as a FA for the first time in his life, but it will be difficult to receive 'a lot of money' as expected.

Local media The Athletic said on the 5th (Korea time) What kind of contracts will FA such as 'Kyle Tucker, Bobby??', and Dylan Shees sign this offseason?A corner called ' was set up to present the rankings and expected contract size of major FA.

The media put Kelly in 20th place overall and 9th place as a starting pitcher, suggesting the expected contract size at $46 million for two years. It is a poor evaluation.




I wonder why starting pitchers who are no better in their career and performance this season, such as Lucas Giolito (19th place, $57 million for three years), Shane Bieber (18th place, $63 million for three years), Michael King (16th place, $75 million for three years), and John Fleherty (15th place, $78 million for four years) are expected to be treated better than Kelly. It's me after all. Kelly, who was born in October 1988, is 37 years old, six to seven years older than them. This is why the contract period is only two years.

7 years and 65 wins, ERA 3.77 and only 2 years of contract? Why Kelly Is Undervalued
메릴 켈리. AFP Yonhap News
A Britton reporter who specializes in team statistics who wrote the article said of Kelly, `A case worth referencing in the starting pitcher market is Seth Lugo's two-year, $46 million extension with the Kansas City Royals last summer. The contract covers Lugo's 36- and 37-year-old seasons, and deserves an example for pitchers like Kelly.' Kelly performed better than Lugo this season. Although Lugo fell behind a year after finishing second in the Cy Young Award, we can rate Kelly in a very similar position to Lugo's contract,' he explained.

Lugo, born in November 1989, is one year younger than Kelly. He pitched 206 ⅔ innings in 33 games last year, ranking second in the AL Cy Young Award voting with a 16-9 record and a 3.00 ERA, and this season, he pitched 145 ⅓ innings in 26 games, slowing down to 8-7 and a 4.15 ERA. He signed an extension in late July under the terms of a club option of $46 million for two years and $17 million for the third year.




Kelly signed an extension in early April 2022, during his time in Arizona, subject to club options of $18 million for two years and $7 million for the third year. After Kelly showed off his top performance as a starter in 2022 (200 ⅓ innings, ERA 3.37) and 2023 (177 ⅔ innings, ERA 3.29) the Arizona club implemented the 2025 option. The contract ended after this season.

7 years and 65 wins, ERA 3.77 and only 2 years of contract? Why Kelly Is Undervalued
Maryl Kelly throws the ball vigorously against the Texas Rangers in Game 2 of the 2023 World Series when he was in Arizona. AP Yonhap News
After four years in the KBO, Kelly signed a two-year, $5.5 million contract with Arizona in December 2018 and succeeded in entering the big league. At that time, the club put options on the line for 2021 and 2022, and both options were implemented as Kelly continued his satisfactory performance. And with the opening of the 2022 season, he signed an extension contract.

In the end, Kelly has never taken the lead and negotiated with Arizona. Accepting Arizona's conditions, he has played for seven years so far this year.




His cumulative annual salary during this period was only about $36.6 million. I've never received 10 million dollars. It is no exaggeration to say that Arizona and Texas Rangers have used pitchers who threw 1,008 ⅓ innings in 172 games, went 65-53 with a 3.77 ERA and 24 innings, 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in four postseason games, including the World Series.

Kelly was traded to Texas last summer after going 9-6 with a 3.22 ERA in 22 appearances for Arizona this season. The team was moved at the request of Texas, which needed an ace pitcher, but fell somewhat short of expectations with a 3-3 record and 4.23 ERA in 10 games. His season record was 12-9 in 184 innings with a 3.52 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 32 games.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.