The Boson Red Sox convincingly beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in a five-game series to win the World Series. When it came to competing for free agent reliever Joe Kelly, it was the Dodgers who squashed Boston by a significant margin.
The Dodgers signed Kelly to a three-year, $25 million deal this week, bolstering a bullpen that faltered in the Fall Classic. A steller postseason capped by six shutout innings in the World Series boosted Kelly’s stock in free agency and no team knows that better than the Dodgers team he stymied.
While Kelly had previously stated a desire to stay in Boston, his decision to leave was made easy by the Dodgers blowing away every other offer.