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Next week, when the Dodgers take on the Marlins on the road for a series, reliever Joe Kelly will likely make his return.

Since Aug. 30, Kelly has been out with right shoulder discomfort, so the Dodgers summoned Ben Casparius to fill in for him. Manager Dave Roberts informed reporters on Wednesday that Triple-A Oklahoma City will have Kelly make rehab appearances on Friday and Sunday.

Kelly has been out twice this season due to injury. The right-hander missed two months of action due to an injured right shoulder.

Kelly has a 1-1 record and a 5.20 ERA in 31 games played so far this year. Thirty batters have been struck out in 27.2 innings, but he has had control issues, allowing four home runs (he allowed three all of previous season), hitting four batters, and walking fourteen.
The last time Kelly suited up for the Dodgers was during a four-game rivalry series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Clayton Kershaw, a seasoned southpaw, left the game prematurely in the second inning. For the last eight innings of that game, the Dodgers opted to use their bullpen. Kelly threw more innings (1.2) than any other reliever and came out of the bullpen first.
“Having the bullpen cover eight innings was a real challenge for the team,” Kershaw explained to Michael Reynolds of MLB.com. They fought and grinded, yet the crew accomplished incredible things. Plus, the bullpen is in shambles after today; I’m bummed I was to blame, but those guys rocked it.

The Dodgers were able to stave off the Diamondbacks in an emergency bullpen game, eventually winning 10-9. They also utilized Ryan Brasier, Michael Kopech, Daniel Hudson, Blake Treinen, and Anthony Banda.

Against Arizona, Kelly had trouble with his command. He allowed two runs to be scored off of three hits and two walks. Another run-scoring balk occurred because the fan favorite stepped over the boundary line.

Even though Kelly had a bad outing, the bullpen came through to seal the victory.
Whether or whether the Dodgers’ bullpen uses Kelly in low-leverage situations depends on his performance upon his return.

Among the ten Dodgers pitchers listed as injured is Kelly. On the other hand, we have Kershaw, Glasnow, Stone, Gonsolin, May, River, Sheehan, Banda, and Brogdon.

In the National League West competition for first place, the Dodgers are presently five games ahead of Arizona.