PHOENIX (AP) - Right-hander Merrill Kelly is joining his hometown Arizona Diamondbacks, agreeing to a $5.5 million, two-year contract.
The 30-year-old spent the past four seasons with SK Wyverns in South Korea. He was 48-32 with a 3.86 ERA, including 16-7 in 2017.
A Scottsdale native, Kelly attended Desert Mountain High School, Yavapai College and Arizona State. He was taken by Tampa Bay on the eighth round of the 2010 amateur draft and rose to Triple-A in the Rays’ system.
He gets $2 million next season and $3 million in 2020. The Diamondbacks have a $4.25 million team option for 2021 with a $500,000 buyout, and if that is exercised they have a $5.25 million option for 2022.
He cannot be sent to the minor leagues without his consent, and he will become a free agent at the end of the contract.
Kelly’s deal was announced Tuesday.
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