Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly are heading to the NL West-leading Dodgers in a trade with the White Sox
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers, who have made pitching a priority in advance of the trade deadline, announced Friday that they’ve acquired Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.
The NL West-leading Dodgers will send outfielder Trayce Thompson, pitcher Nick Nastrini and reliever Jordan Leasure to the White Sox.
Lynn has been mostly underwhelming this season. The 36-year-old right-hander is 6-9 with a 6.18 ERA and leads the American League in earned runs (79) and home runs allowed (28).
But Lynn has 139 strikeouts in 115 innings and 10.9 per nine innings. In June, Lynn struck out 16 in a game against Seattle, setting a major-league mark for most strikeouts in a game by a pitcher with an ERA above 6.00.
He was an All-Star for the White Sox in 2021 and shortly after signed a $38 million, two-year contract extension that included a club option.
Lynn began the 2022 season on the injured list with a meniscus tear suffered in spring training. He returned in mid-June and finished the season with an 8-7 record in 21 starts and a 3.99 ERA. He recorded 121 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings.
Lynn has spent most of his career in the AL. Besides the White Sox, he has pitched for Minnesota, the New York Yankees and Texas. He began his career with St. Louis, and missed the 2016 season with them after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
He won a World Series with the Cardinals in 2011, his debut season in the majors. The following year he earned his first All-Star berth.
Kelly returns to Los Angeles for his second stint with the Dodgers. The hard-throwing right-handed reliever recently returned from the injured list for elbow inflammation.
Kelly pitched for the Dodgers from 2019-21, winning the World Series during the pandemic-delayed 2020 season. He had a 3.59 ERA in 105 1/3 innings during that span.
Kelly isn’t the only former Dodger to land back in Los Angeles.
Earlier this week, the team acquired utilityman Kiké Hernández from the Boston Red Sox three years after he departed Los Angeles for the East Coast.
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