After the Classic, Kelly plans to hit Triple-A ... as a coach

JUPITER, Fla. -- Team Israel hopes to shock the baseball world for a second consecutive World Baseball Classic, and in doing so prolong Ty Kelly’s playing career.

Kelly, who last appeared in the Majors in 2018 with the Mets, will serve as a fourth coach for Triple-A Tacoma in the Mariners’ organization once Israel’s run ends at the tournament.

“I'll go back and hopefully have some street cred with the guys to hopefully be able to just say like, ‘I can still do it,’” Kelly said.

The 34-year-old Texan took that first step by going 2-for-3 with a two-run double in Wednesday night’s 11-5 exhibition loss to the Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

A mainstay for Team Israel, whose roster consists of just one Israel-born player, Kelly has gone from a young up-and-comer to a veteran of international baseball. He was part of Israel's 2017 World Baseball Classic club that went undefeated in Pool A, besting the Netherlands, South Korea and Chinese Taipei, before finishing 1-2 in the second round. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in '21, Israel was eliminated in the second round of the knockout stage via an 11-1 loss to South Korea.

“He knows what it's all about, same with Ryan Lavarnway,” manager Ian Kinsler said. “They kind of just understand this format of baseball. It's nice to see both of them swing the bat well tonight, and I know it feels good for them to get a hit early and get that feeling. It's good to see that.”

Since Kelly’s final MLB game on July 23, 2018, he has spent time in the Angels, Mariners and Dodgers systems. There also was a stint with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League in '21. Until Wednesday’s exhibition, Kelly hadn’t played in an organized game since last August at Double-A Tulsa.

There was some understandable rust for Kelly and his teammates. In the first inning, he committed consecutive fielding errors at shortstop -- a position he never played in the Majors -- which led to a Marlins run. Kelly made up for it with a two-run double that chased Marlins left-hander Braxton Garrett with two outs in the fourth and gave Israel a 4-1 lead.

“I don't think anyone's reading into the two errors by Ty early, because again, it's our first game out here,” Lavarnway said. “It's more important that we get in a rhythm and nobody got hurt today. So we'll start to speed it up, and we have to speed it up quick, because the tournament's in a couple of days.”

Kelly believes that’s possible because of the training he did over the winter as both a player and as a coach. He hit off a new machine called Trajekt, which mimics the exact speed, spin and trajectory of any pitch.

Kelly also studied old footage of his swing with someone affiliated with the Dodgers system. That was a turning point for Kelly, who is trying to take his own advice as much as he can at the plate. Consider it good preparation for his next journey in baseball.

“Players are getting younger and younger, too,” Kelly said. “It gets tough to try and hold out in the offseason to find a job to play, so it was very tough last year to get signed with the Dodgers. I basically had an in, in the organization to be able to send the staff my hitting video, and I don't have those kinds of connections with every team, unfortunately. So I basically said, ‘I'm ready to start trying to help guys out.’ The little bit of experience I've gotten with that through the offseason, and then the couple of weeks that I was in Peoria for Spring Training, was awesome, and I feel like I have tons to offer. So I'm excited to keep pursuing that.”

Worth noting
• Phillies backup catcher Garrett Stubbs started at third base, something he has never done in his professional career.

"Just trying to get him and Ryan into the lineup," Kinsler said. "I've talked to Garrett and the Phillies, and [I] knew that he's a versatile player, athletic player, capable of doing it. The Phillies actually appreciated that, so that he wasn't catching every game, back-to-back games before the season started. To be able to have him at third is good for everybody, really."

• Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer will start Israel's opening game of the World Baseball Classic at noon ET on Sunday in Miami against Nicaragua.

• Two-time All-Star and Giants outfielder Joc Pederson will join the club on Saturday in Miami. Pederson's brother, Tyger, is Israel's first-base coach.