The injury bug appears to have bitten the White Sox once again, and once again taking out another bullpen piece.
This time, it was Joe Kelly, who left the game shaking out his right arm after throwing a pitch. The injury occurred during his at-bat against Kris Bryant, and it appeared to come one pitch before he struck Bryant out. Kelly would wince after the injury, clearly showing the injury was in his arm. The White Sox have since announced it was right biceps discomfort.
Kelly did not throw any pitches after the injury in an attempt to see if he could pitch through it. He was replaced by Jimmy Lambert with two runners on and two outs, and Lambert was able to pitch out of it.
Kelly, who got a late start this season due to nerve damage in his elbow, was heavily recruited by Tony La Russa before signing a two-year deal. With a 6.20 ERA, Kelly’s been far from advertised this season when on the field, and his inability to stay healthy is a concern for the White Sox moving forward. With the trade deadline looming, Kelly’s diagnosis will go a long way in determining just how Rick Hahn manages his acquisitions – and how many bullpen arms he looks to add.
We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
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Featured Image: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
It was an impossibly dumb idea to sign a reliever for 17M over 2 years who was coming off an injury that would force him to miss the first few weeks of the season. The KNEW he was already hurt! I mean, there are just no excuses for how bad this front office has been time and time again.