The Diamondbacks announced today that right-hander has been added to the roster, with left-hander Kyle Nelson optioned to Triple-A Reno to clear an active roster spot. To make room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Kevin Ginkel was moved to the 60-day injured list.
Kelly, 35, joined Arizona on a minor league deal in March and has been working in a swingman role for Triple-A Reno. Over 85 innings across 14 starts and four relief appearances, he’s posted a 5.82 ERA with a 10.6% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate, and 45.8% ground-ball rate.
Arizona’s bullpen was taxed heavily in last night’s 11-inning, 10–5 loss to the Padres, with six relievers seeing action. After trading Merrill Kelly at last week’s deadline, Anthony DeSclafani shifted from long relief to the rotation but lasted just 2 1/3 innings in his last start. With DeSclafani starting again tonight, Casey Kelly could be called on to provide multiple innings out of the bullpen to preserve the rest of the relief corps.
For Ginkel, the IL transfer effectively ends his season. He started the year on the shelf with shoulder inflammation, returned in late April, but re-injured the shoulder on Monday, this time with a sprain. The 60-day stint will carry into early October.
While Ginkel has enjoyed strong seasons in the past, 2025 has been one of his roughest. He’s logged a 7.36 ERA, possibly hampered by shoulder issues, and his fastball velocity has dropped from last year’s 96 mph to 94.9 mph.
He’s earning \$2.425 million this season and remains arbitration-eligible for 2025. Although his struggles may limit any raise, the Diamondbacks could still consider a non-tender, depending on whether they believe he can return to the form he showed from 2022–24, when he posted a 2.95 ERA with strong strikeout, walk, and ground-ball rates over 164 2/3 innings.
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