Dodgers Clearly Pivoting from Shohei Ohtani by Signing Joe Kelly

The Dodgers are re-signing righty reliever Joe Kelly, which is a very clear indication that they are pivoting from Shohei Ohtani. After all, Kelly wears No. 17 and you can’t have two guys with the same number. Given how the Yankees took care to 18 open all last year in anticipation of luring Yoshinobu Yamamoto, it’s obvious the Dodgers care little for catering to their next would-be superstar.

Robert Murray of Fansided was first with the news that the Dodgers were “very close” to a deal with Kelly, then WEEI’s Rob Bradford reported that the deal is done pending a physical.

This is all just a joke, of course, as either Kelly or Ohtani could easily change numbers if the Dodgers ended up with both of them. Kelly actually wore 58 when he broke into MLB with the Cardinals back in 2012 and then switched to 56 with the Red Sox from 2014-18, so he might be persuaded to let go of 17 should LA have a reason to need him to do so.

For what it’s worth, the Cubs have 17 open and can even pair it with the 27 worn by Seiya Suzuki in honor of Mike Trout. Seems like a perfect fit to me.