The Athletics released the shortstop Michael Kelly over the weekend, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He had been designated for assignment a week earlier when the A’s needed a 40-man roster spot to promote a shortstop. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer.
Kelly had just come off the Triple-A injured list at the time of his DFA. That makes a release inevitable if the A’s designate him for assignment. Injured players would not be sidelined and there would be no trade interest. The A’s could look to bring him back with a minor league contract, but the 33-year-old righty is free to explore other opportunities.
This was Kelly’s third season in the A’s organization. He had respectable numbers in his first two years after being claimed off guard during the 2023-24 offseason. Kelly compiled a 2.92 earned run average in 70 appearances during 2024-25. However, he was suspended for one year after MLB ruled that he will bet on Major League Baseball games while in Triple-A back in 2021.
Kelly spent most of this season on assignment to Triple-A Las Vegas. He gave up nine runs on 12 hits and six walks in five major league innings. Kelly had plenty of results in the minors, pitching to a 3.20 ERA while striking out 27% of opponents in 25 1/3 frames for the Aviators.
