On the same Thursday the Yankees announced Aaron Boone’s contract extension, Joe Kelly decided to take aim at the team once again.
With less than a month until Opening Day, the Yankees are locked in on proving doubters wrong—but Kelly, a reliever who wasn’t even on the Dodgers’ postseason roster, continues to stir the pot.
This time, he took shots at the Yankees’ fundamentals, Boone’s leadership, and even Gerrit Cole, but how much weight do his words actually carry?
Kelly questions Yankees’ place in World Series
During an appearance on Baseball Isn’t Boring, Kelly wasted no time criticizing the Yankees’ performance in the Fall Classic, zeroing in on their Game 5 defensive struggles, which allowed the Dodgers to capitalize.
“We were saying every single game, ‘Just let them throw the ball to the infield. They can’t make a play,’” Kelly said.
He then went further, suggesting the Yankees were never real contenders.
“It was just a mismatch from the get-go… If we had a playoff re-ranking, they might be ranked [the] eighth- or ninth-best playoff team,” Kelly claimed.
But Kelly’s comments ignore the bigger picture. The Yankees—without a fully healthy rotation and a depleted bullpen—took the Dodgers to five hard-fought games in the World Series. While their infield defense struggled at times, New York’s pitching kept them in contention, and their path to the Fall Classic was anything but easy.
This was the same Yankees team that took down the Astros, erased years of postseason frustration, and proved they could hang with the best. Kelly’s suggestion that they didn’t belong ignores the adversity they overcame just to get there.
Boone responds, but Kelly isn’t buying it
On January 29, nearly a month ago, Aaron Boone addressed Kelly’s remarks on BT and Sal on WFAN.
“They won, so they had that right… But it wasn’t the Freddie Freemans, Shohei [Ohtanis], or Mookie [Bettses] popping off. It was some others,” Boone said, making it clear that Kelly’s opinion isn’t exactly coming from the top of the Dodgers’ roster.
Boone admitted the Yankees fell short of their goal, but unlike Kelly, he isn’t interested in taking shots from the sidelines.
“The bottom line is we didn’t play as well as we could’ve… We’ll try and get back to that stage and hopefully punch through,” Boone added.
While Kelly keeps revisiting the past, the Yankees are looking ahead—and that’s where their focus should be.
Kelly mocks Yankees’ fundamentals
Kelly wasn’t done. When reminded of Boone’s response, he took it one step further, mocking the Yankees’ defense with a comparison that didn’t go unnoticed.
“I got [my son] Knox’s nine-year-old travel team… Every single one of them… I know who does forget to get over, and it’s not the nine-year-olds,” Kelly said with a smirk.
Some speculated that Kelly’s comment was a veiled shot at Gerrit Cole, who has faced occasional criticism for failing to cover first base on grounders.
But let’s be real—Cole just won a Cy Young Award and was the Yankees’ most reliable player in 2024. If Kelly’s jab was meant to stir up controversy, it completely ignored the fact that Cole is the least of the Yankees’ concerns.
While Kelly is busy rehashing old narratives, the Yankees are preparing for a crucial 2025 season, armed with one of the best lineups in baseball and a dominant bullpen.
With Cody Bellinger bringing power to the outfield and Devin Williams solidifying the bullpen, New York is stronger and more balanced heading into the new season.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
Hmm. Joe Kelly, Dodger Ace. I guess his stellar pitching performances during the Series last year have earned him the right to trash-talk the Yankees. Oh wait, pitching performances? There were none! Kelly was MIA during the series and contributed absolutely nothing to the Dodgers victory. I guess he just likes to trash-talk, even when it’s unearned. Sounds like rolling around in the trash is right where he belongs.
Oh, and Joe, if you’d been paying attention, you’d realize that the games the Dodgers won were all very close and could easily have gone either way. Game 1 went extra innings, with the Yankees having had the lead until the 8th. If we had brought in Hill to pitch to Freeman instead of Cortes, who hadn’t pitched in two months, the outcome might have been very different. Games two and three were each won by a margin of 4-2, and game five by 7-6, after the Yankees held a 5-0 lead until their defensive meltdown that opened the door for the Dodger’s to come back. But for that, the Yankees win that game. And with their blowout victory in game 4 (11-4), it’s likely the Yankees are up 3 games to 2 after the fifth game.
And Joe, check out these numbers. The Dodgers outscored the Yankees in the Series by only one run: 25-24. Yet the Yankees outhit the Dodgers 36-33; hit more home runs: 9-7; had a higher batting average: .212-.206; a higher OBP: .332-.296; a higher SLG: .412-.406; a higher OPS: .743-.702; more stolen bases: 9-3; and a lower ERA: 3.83-4.80.
Sure, the Dodgers won the most important stat of all: they won the Series 4 games to 1. Hats off to the Dodgers. But overall, that stat doesn’t reflect how close the Series was overall. Cudo’s to the Yankees for showing professionalism in defeat, and as well to the Dodgers (sans you, Joe) for being gracious in victory.
Joe Kelly’s trash-talk simply exemplifies that you can be a professional ballplayer and still be an unprofessional individual. His veiled reference to Cole not covering 1B in his comment about his nine year old son’s travel team simply reveals that Joe Kelly sure knows how to act like a nine year old. Maybe it’s time to grow up, Joe?? Oh, and by the way, Gerrit Cole has a Cy Young award, doesn’t he. Where’s yours, Joe?