SCOTTSDALE — Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly sat in the road dugout along the first-base side at Dodger Stadium on Opening Day in 2019, wrapping his head around where he was.
Hyun-Jin Ryu was warming up on the mound, Dodger Stadium was bustling and although Kelly did not pitch in that game, it was the official start to the 30-year-old rookie’s big league career.
Seven years later, Kelly will get the ball to open Arizona’s season on March 26 at the Dodgers, the first Opening Day start of his career.
“I remember sitting in the dugout and seeing the ‘Dodgers’ across his chest, and obviously Chavez Ravine gets loud at that moment and it really hit me that it was the first time I was a big leaguer,” Kelly said on Sunday. “For that to come full circle and have my first Opening Day start in L.A. is pretty cool.”
The Diamondbacks wasted no time this year in making the announcement, even with the pending acquisition of free agent pitcher Zac Gallen, whose signing became official shortly after.
Gallen started the previous three season openers for the Diamondbacks, even over Corbin Burnes last year, a Cy Young winner who signed the biggest contract in club history.
Gallen was excited for Kelly, his teammate since 2019, to receive the opportunity after they unexpectedly reunited in Arizona after free agency.
“I think Merrill deserves it fully,” Gallen said on Sunday. “I was happy he got it. I saw it yesterday. I congratulated him today. I think he’s gonna do a great job. I think for him, I can’t speak for him, but I would imagine being from here and what he’s gone through in his career having to go to Korea and come back and establish himself as one of, if not the most underrated starter in baseball, I think it’s a perfect spot. I think it’s good for him.”
Kelly said he got flashbacks when he learned the news from manager Torey Lovullo.
He thought back to that spring day in Los Angeles but also to his experience in Korea, where he pitched for four years before making his MLB debut.
Kelly said he’s watched a lot of Opening Day games from the bench, including his first game with the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization in 2015.
“I’m humbled,” Kelly said. “Being able to take the ball and get us going and kick us off means a lot. Obviously, coming back this year, forever grateful for the organization not only for giving me the first chance to be a big leaguer, but obviously continuing to believe in me throughout the course of my career.”
“We’re always imagining stuff in the backyard, whether it’s two outs in the bottom of the ninth in the World Series, Opening Day at Dodger Stadium would probably be one of those,” Kelly added.
The 37-year-old was Arizona’s most effective starter last season until he was traded at the deadline to Texas with a 3.22 ERA in 22 starts.
Kelly returned to the Diamondbacks on a two-year, $40 million deal with a vesting option for a third season. He said he did not take a “hometown discount,” but he explained that there was a three-year offer on the table from San Diego he turned down to come back to Arizona for a two-plus-one contract. Being back in his hometown with family was an important factor.
How the Diamondbacks’ rotation shakes out behind him with Burnes on the injured list until possibly July is to be determined, but Arizona trusts Kelly with the responsibility to go into Dodger Stadium on a night when the 2025 World Series banner gets raised on national television and quiet the crowd.
