He then returned to his former team, the Dodgers, through a trade at the end of July of the 2023 season.

After finishing the 2023 season, Kelly became an FA again. And he signed a one-year, $8 million, one-year contract with the Dodgers, and will play together in the 2024 season.

But there was an additional problem. It was his jersey number. Kelly was playing for the Dodgers with his jersey number 17, and the Dodgers was considering recruiting Ohtani, a “700-million-dollar man.”

Shortly before the contract with Ohtani was signed, local media reported that the contract was imminent as the Dodgers called Kelly and asked, “Can you give up your number 17?” 토토사이트

And this was confirmed. Dodgers actually signed a 10-year contract worth 700 million U.S. dollars with Ohtani, and Kelly gladly gave up No. 17 saying, “It’s an honor to give up my uniform number to a player like Ohtani.”

However, Kelly chose the number 99. Originally, there were rumors that Kelly would choose the number 58, which she used as a rookie, but the final choice was 99. Ashley Kelly, Kelly’s wife, made headlines by her fans when she disclosed her replacement through a pleasant self-video on her social media account.

The 99th is the same number that Ryu used to wear. While playing for the Dodgers for seven seasons in the 2013-2019 season, Ryu used the 99th number that he had stuck with since the Hanwha Eagles. Since Ryu left the Dodgers, no one has worn the 99th number, and Kelly has chosen the 99th number, becoming the 99th player for the Dodgers after Ryu.