Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly actually started Game 5 when his team went with a bullpen game, though he was unable to get out of the first inning. The broadcast initially said it was a shoulder issue but later said the Dodgers clarified he had a right biceps strain.
After Game 5, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was likely that Kelly was done for the remainder of the postseason. On Friday that prognosis came to fruition when the Dodgers replaced Kelly on their NLCS roster with left-hander David Price.
By rule, a player being removed from a series roster means he is ineligible to be on the roster in the following series, so even if the Dodgers come back and win the NLCS, Kelly won’t be eligible to pitch in the World Series.
The Dodgers trail the Braves in the best-of-seven NLCS with Game 6 taking place Saturday in Atlanta. A win with Max Scherzer on the mound for L.A. would force a Game 7 on Sunday.
Price, 36, pitched 73 2/3 innings in 39 appearances this season. He had a 4.03 ERA (102 ERA+), 1.43 WHIP and 58 strikeouts against 24 unintentional walks. He gives the Dodgers a third lefty out of the bullpen after Alex Vesia and Justin Bruihl. Though in the case of the latter, there’s more news.
Roberts told reports Friday (including Eric Stephen of SB Nation) that Bruihl is receiving treatment on a sore throwing arm and the Dodgers are going to take an extra non-roster reliever with them to Atlanta in case they need to make another move.
So far in the NLCS, the Dodgers have used every single reliever on their roster in at least two different games for at least two innings. Eight of them have thrown in at least three games with Kelly, Vesia and Kenley Jansen having appeared in four of the five games.
