Apart from a brief stint with the Texas Rangers following the MLB Trade Deadline in 2025, 37-year-old right-hander Merrill Kelly has spent each of his seasons on an MLB roster with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Kelly began his professional baseball journey with the Tampa Bay Rays when he was drafted by the organization with the 251st pick in the eighth round of the 2010 MLB Draft. He spent the next several years in the Rays' minor-league system before signing with the Diamondbacks in December 2018.

The signing with the Diamondbacks was a homecoming for Kelly, who attended high school in Scottsdale, Ariz. before committing to play for Arizona State in college.

Kelly finished the year out with the Rangers after the Diamondbacks traded him at the 2025 deadline, but he swiftly returned to the organization he debuted with in 2019 on a two-year, $40 million deal in the subsequent offseason.

In the first episode of "Driven In" with broadcaster Jody Jackson, Kelly talked about what the Diamondbacks’ organization has meant to him and his family.

"I definitely have a special place in my heart for the D-backs," Kelly said. "They're obviously the ones that gave me, not only my initial shot at the big leagues, to continue to make it known that they want me around, obviously, with the extension that I signed after the first contract, and then obviously bringing me back here.

"And obviously, being from here, my wife being from here, our family’s here, it's definitely where we wanted to be," he added. "Texas was, I think, good for me, good for us. Just to see how different organizations or a different organization runs things and goes about things."

Kelly made 10 starts for the Rangers after being traded, and he logged a 3-3 record with a 4.23 ERA. During Driven In, Kelly expanded on why his brief tenure with Texas was an important experience.

"Yeah, I think if I were here the whole time, obviously I still would have tried to come back here, even if I didn't get traded," Kelly said. "But, I think it was good for me to at least get a taste of somewhere else. I think it made us appreciate being home even more.

"I think we knew how lucky we were to be a Diamondback living at home," he added. "But I think being in Texas and being away for even those two months definitely made us realize how truly lucky we are to be able to live and play in the same place and be able to be at home."

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