Dodgers' Joe Kelly reveals the reason for giving up his jersey number for Shohei Ohtani: "That’s the closest I’ll get to the Hall of Fame”

Los Angeles Dodgers fan favorite Joe Kelly has given a light-hearted reply to explain why he gave up his number to new arrival Shohei Ohtani. The right-handed reliever joined the Dodgers for his second spell in the club in 2023, donning No. 17. However, with the Japanese superstar's arrival, he has agreed to give up his number, saying that's the closest he'll get to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Kelly was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009, making his major league debut for them in 2012, replacing an injured Jaime Garcia.

Kelly was then traded to the Boston Red Sox in 2014 and won his first World Series with them. The Dodgers signed Kelly to a three-year, $27 million deal ahead of 2019, and while he made a slow start, he improved over the next three years until he became a free agent and signed with the Chicago White Sox.

After spending a year and a half with the White Sox, Kelly was again traded to the Dodgers for his second stint with the club. Despite declining to extend him at the end of the season, the LA front office re-signed him on a one-year deal. In the same week, the team also signed Shohei Ohtani, the most valuable player in the market.

Those moves led to a clash of jersey numbers between the two players, and Kelly was more than happy to give up the number for the two-way phenom.

“I wasn’t going to give it up to just anybody," Kelly said. "If Shohei keeps performing, he’ll be a future Hall of Famer, and I’ll be able to have my number retired. That’s the closest I’ll get to the Hall of Fame.”

Joe Kelly reveals new jersey number in charity event with the Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly gave up his jersey number to newcomer Shohei Ohtani this week. Since then, he has had to select a new number for the upcoming MLB season and revealed his new No. 99 jersey in style.

The Dodgers arranged a charity event for over 600 children in Dodger Stadium on Wednesday to mark the start of the holidays and build on the excitement of their new signing. Kelly was also present for the event and used it to reveal the new jersey number.