The D-backs are bringing back a familiar face to bolster their starting rotation, agreeing to terms on a two-year, $40 million deal with right-hander Merrill Kelly, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Sunday. The team has not confirmed the deal.
After seven seasons with the Diamondbacks, in which he compiled a 3.74 ERA, Kelly was dealt to the Rangers at the Trade Deadline on July 31. He finished 2025 with a 12-9 record and a 3.52 ERA in 32 starts. That ERA ranked 19th in MLB among qualified starters, while Kelly’s 18 quality starts were the 11th-most in baseball.
Kelly, 37, turned in an overall solid season in 2025, which continued a trend in which the righty has been one of the more reliable starters in the Majors. Aside from an injury-shortened 2024 season and the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Kelly has made 27 or more starts in every other season since his debut in 2019, including three seasons of 30-plus starts.
Despite a six-pitch repertoire that doesn’t especially distinguish itself, Kelly mixes his pitches well and gets outs in large part because he owns one of the best chase rates in the bigs. Batters go outside the zone on 32.8 percent of Kelly’s offerings, which ranks in MLB’s 91st percentile.
Kelly’s four-seamer averages just 92 mph, but he held hitters to a .212 average on the pitch. Hitter averages on some of his other pitches were even more impressive in 2025. Kelly’s cutter held hitters to a .181 average while batters hit just .203 on his changeup.
The bottom line is that Kelly remains an effective starter. His 3.77 ERA since his debut in 2019 is the 11th-best mark in baseball during that time among pitchers with at least 1,000 innings pitched, ahead of the likes of Dylan Cease and Aaron Nola. Meanwhile, his 1.20 WHIP over that span is the 10th-best mark among qualified starters.
