The Dodgers made their signing of relief pitcher Joe Kelly official on Monday. He agreed to a one-year contract worth $8 million, but the big news around him is his jersey number.
Nothing is official yet, but the Dodgers roster shows Kelly listed as number 99. It seems that he has changed from his number 17…I wonder why…
It couldn’t have anything to do with the team signing two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani over the weekend, could it?
All indications are that the number 17 will be going to Ohtani. He and the Dodgers agreed to a record-setting $700 million contract that spans 10 years.
It was reported earlier in the winter that the team had asked Kelly if he would be willing to give up his number, and it seems that the change has happened. Kelly was always going to give up his number if the team landed Ohtani.
While we got the news about making the Kelly signing official, we are still waiting on Ohtani. We should be hearing about it soon, however, since the Dodgers cleared room on the 40-man roster earlier with a trade.
The team acquired shortstop Trey Sweeney from the New York Yankees in exchange for lefty reliever Victor Gonzalez and infielder Jorbit Vivas.
Now all there is left to do is wait for Ohtani to be officially announced by the team!
Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
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