Is Joe Kelly the Next Andrew Miller?

Andrew Miller came into the big leagues as a highly touted starting pitcher.

He had great stuff, with a hard fastball and a sharp curveball.

However, as a starter, Miller struggled. With an ERA ranging from 4.84 to 8.54 in five seasons, Miller was slowly losing his spot as a pitcher in a big league rotation.

After being traded to the Red Sox in 2010, and after struggling as a starter for them in 201l, the Red Sox moved Miller to the bullpen.

This move may have saved his career.

As a reliever, Miller blossomed into the pitcher that everyone thought that he could be when he was drafted in the first round.

After obtaining a 3.35 ERA in 2012, it then decreased the next four seasons. By 2014, Miller posted a 2.34 ERA with the Sox, and he was considered to be one of the best relievers in baseball.

However, because the Red Sox did not want pay for him next season, they traded Miller to Baltimore.

In the second half of the 2014 season with Baltimore, Miller posted an astonishing 1.35 ERA.

After signing with the Yankees the next year and ultimately ending up with the Indians a couple of years later, Miller is thought to be one of the most dominant relievers in baseball today.

He is considered to be a lethal weapon for the Indians, and when he comes in during the middle of the game with a lead, the game seems over.

The Red Sox have to be kicking themselves for not signing Miller to an extension back in 2014. Middle relief has been a struggle for the Red Sox, and Miller could have made all of the difference.

Like Andrew Miller back in 2014, Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly is a free agent next season. If the Red Sox have learned anything in the last few years, they will re-sign Joe Kelly.

Kelly, like Miller, began his career as a starter. After posting a combined 3.70 ERA with the Cardinals as a starter, Kelly actually had more early success than Miller.

IN 2014, Kelly was traded to Boston. Known, like Miller, as a hard thrower with a good breaking ball, Kelly struggled as a starter with Sox. After Posting a 4.82 ERA in 2015 and a 5.18 ERA in 2016, Kelly was moved to the bullpen at the end of the 2016 season, where he showed some glimpses as a solid relief pitcher.

This season, Kelly has been lights out.

In 36 appearances this season, Kelly is 3-1 with a 1.66 ERA. With a fastball that can reach 102mph, Kelly has been absolutely electric.

At 29 years old, Kelly is on a one year deal worth over $2 million per year.

Some advice to the Red Sox: Sign Kelly.


If they don’t, it could come back to bite the Red Sox years later.


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