William Ryan Kelly (born October 30, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves in 2015, and in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Uni-President Lions in 2016.

Career

Early career

Kelly attended Hilton Head High School in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tennessee.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Kelly in the 26th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft.^[1]

Texas Rangers

On December 23, 2010, Kelly was traded to the Oakland Athletics for in exchange for Corey Wimberly.^[2] On January 11, 2011, the Athletics traded him to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Guillermo Moscoso.^[3] Kelly spent the year with the High–A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, making 40 appearances and posting a 3.95 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 82.0 innings of work.^[4]

San Diego Padres

On December 21, 2011, the Rangers traded Kelly to the San Diego Padres for Luis Martinez.^[5] For the next two seasons, Kelly pitched in relief with the Texas League Champion Double–A San Antonio Missions and Triple–A Tucson Padres.

Atlanta Braves

Kelly signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves in November 2013.^[6] He was promoted to the major leagues on June 28, 2015.^[1][7] He made his major league debut on June 30 against the Washington Nationals, pitching one inning, in which he gave up one run on two hits, while recording a strikeout and a walk.^[8] He was released on March 5, 2016.^[9]

Later career

After his release from the Braves, Kelly signed with the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.^{[citation needed]} On July 15, 2016, Kelly signed with the Vaqueros Laguna of the Mexican Baseball League. Gaining a release on August 11, 2016, he signed on to play in the winter off-season Mexican Pacific League with the Yaquis de Obregon.

On April 6, 2017, Kelly signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.^{[citation needed]} On May 17, 2017, Kelly signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners. He pitched in relief at both AAA & AA levels finishing the season with 2.97 ERA, 32 Ks in 30.1 IP, .86 WHIP with 6 saves.^[10] He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Kelly continued putting up good numbers in 2017 when he signed on for the off-season first half with Cardenales de Lara in Liga Venezuela Beisbol Professional. He finished the half 1-1, 1.71 ERA, 21 IP, .76 WHIP and 9 saves. Kelly again pitched for Cardenales de Lara in 2018 winter season and on November 20, 2018, converted his 19th consecutive save, a club record.^[11]

On March 28, 2018, Kelly signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. On July 14, 2018 Kelly earned his 100th professional career save with 3 Ks in the 9th to preserve the 3-1 Patriots win. He became a free agent following the 2018 season. On April 3, 2019, Kelly signed with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He was traded to the Pericos de Puebla on May 14, 2019. On May 15, 2019, Kelly signed with the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League. He was released on June 13, 2019. On June 22, 2019, Kelly signed with the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He finished the regular season with 13 saves with 24 Ks in 24 IP. In this, their inaugural season, the Rockers made the 2019 ALPB playoffs via wild card. He became a free agent following the season.^{[citation needed]}

In the off-season 2019, Kelly signed with The Tomateros de Culiacán in the Mexican Pacific League based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The Tomateros won the 2019-20 Mexican Pacific League title and went on to the Caribbean World Series.^{[citation needed]} On November 22, 2019, Kelly signed with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. Kelly did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican League season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[12] He later became a free agent.