Former Boston Red Sox World Series champion Joe Kelly has a bone to pick with free agency.
With the Major League Baseball 2022 campaign a chapter of the past, all focus has been redirected to the offseason with several household names available for grabs before the start of next season.
No stranger to vocalizing his opinion, or standing his ground through a tempers-flaring brawl against the New York Yankees when deemed necessary, Kelly spoke out during an appearance on Audacy Sports’ “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast with WEEI’s Rob Bradford to issue his frustrations.
“I think it’s kind of outdated and cheesy, honestly,” Kelly told Bradford. “That kind of recruiting, that’s what college kids like. … Big leaguers are just like, ‘Hey, is the team good? Do you have good family? Is the money the same as the offer from someone else?”
After winning the World Series as a member of the Red Sox in 2018 to end his five-year tenure in Boston, Kelly signed a three-year deal in free agency with the Los Angeles Dodgers followed by a two-year agreement with the Chicago White Sox in 2022.
With American League home run champ and MVP Aaron Judge highlighting the 2022 market list, Kelly doesn’t believe a recruitment process is at all necessary, suggesting that visits with organizations across the league would be a “waste.”
“There’s nothing that a team is going to show him that Aaron Judge hasn’t seen,” Kelly said. “So ultimately it’s like, what do you do for family, what are you going to do to give my alone time, can I talk to less media here? … Wherever you feel more comfortable, what can you do for me on that aspect? Because money’s going to be the same.”
Kelly added: “We’re grown men. You can’t ooh and ahh me like I’m an 18-year-old kid. … What are you trying to tell a 30-year-old that he doesn’t already know about this world?”
After making his debut season with the White Sox, Kelly, 34, is under contract with Chicago for one more year before reaching a club option with the organization in 2024.
