NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Over his final eight starts of the 2015 season, Joe Kelly went 7-0 with a 2.35 ERA while averaging almost six innings per start.
It was enough for the Red Sox to forget about his first 17 starts of the season, when his maddening level of talent had produced suspiciously poor results highlighted by a 6.11 ERA.
Despite spending part of the season in Triple-A Pawtucket, Kelly finished the season worth 1.2 wins above replacement, the highest value of his career, according to fangraphs.
After the Red Sox signed David Price to lead the rotation last week and traded Wade Miley to the Mariners on Monday, the Red Sox now appear committed to Kelly as the fifth starter in a rotation that’ll also include Price, Clay Buchholz, Eduardo Rodriguez and Rick Porcello.