"I'll give Judge my number too" - Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly jokingly offers jersey number to Aaron Judge if trade took place
Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly gave up his jersey number when Shohei Ohtani signed his deal with the club over the winter. He switched from No. 17 to No. 99, but it was not for free.
Ohtani gifted Kelly's wife, who was loud in her support of the team signing the two-way phenom, a Porsche. Now, Kelly is looking to trade in his new number to bring in one of the best players in baseball: Aaron Judge.
Jokingly, Joe Kelly poked the idea of the team signing Judge to the front office.
"If you want to trade for Aaron Judge now ... I'll give Judge my number, too," Kelly said.
Surprisingly, the Blue Crew was one of the teams not interested in Judge when he was a free agent. They were saving their money for Ohtani, and, boy, did they get him and then some.
This was one of the biggest offseasons a team has had, and it is already showing. Through six spring training games, the Dodgers sit atop the Cactus League with a 5-1 record.
While Joe Kelly loves the idea of a trade, the Dodgers are all set
The Dodgers assembled a juggernaut roster this offseason with the moves they made. They were already a great team coming into the winter but left a much more fearsome squad.
Ohtani made his spring debut the other day and, of course, launched a home run. It was a two-run shot off Chicago White Sox pitcher Dominic Leone. He finished 1-for-3.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto also made his spring debut. While it was short, he was impressive. He threw only 19 pitches, but 16 of those were for strikes. He finished the day going two innings and striking out three batters.
Yamamoto threw all of his pitches in his repertoire and had great command. It was a good taste of what is to come from the young Japanese flamethrower. He can be one of baseball's best pitchers on one of the best rotations.
All eyes will be on this team all season long as it looks to capture its first World Series since 2020. Anything short of that will be seen as a failure in the fans' eyes.