Joe Kelly confirmed what many expected: The Los Angeles Dodgers made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
The free agent pitcher recently agreed to a three-year, $25 million contract with the Dodgers, opting not to re-sign with the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox.
The rumor was that L.A. was willing to offer the veteran right-hander a three-year deal that Boston was not. Turns out that's exactly what happened.
Here's Kelly explaining to WEEI's Rob Bradford why he chose the Dodgers over the Red Sox:
"I don't know if there was one moment besides me saying, 'This is the team I want to play for. This is the team that gave me a three-year deal at $25 million,' " Kelly said on the "Bradfo Sho" podcast.
"It wasn't like I saw the writing on the wall before that. So, I guess the moment where you hear the three-year deal and no other teams are at the three-year mark ... it was like, 'All right, well, I've been really, really involved with speaking with L.A. and understanding the philosophies and behind-the-scenes stuff for pitching.'
"I was already intrigued, so I guess if you had to put a moment on it, it was that."
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Kelly obviously had some strong ties to Boston after his stellar postseason performance helped the Red Sox defeat his new team in the 2018 World Series.
But the 30-year-old's ex-teammates understood him returning to his hometown team (Kelly grew up in Riverside County, Calif.) for a better paycheck and a significant role.
"Brock (Holt) and his wife FaceTimed me and my wife at like seven in the morning, and he was like, ‘Dang, you’re super, duper, duper rich!' " Kelly told Bradford. "And I just started laughing.
I’m obviously so close with those guys and everything was positive from those guys. They understand what’s the best for my family, career."
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