The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to terms with RHP Merrill Kelly (@Mert_723) on a 2-year contract through 2020, with club options for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The D-backs 40-man roster is now at 36. 
 
D-backs Senior Vice President & Assistant General Manager Jared Porter & Merrill Kelly will be available on a conference call at 5:45 p.m. PHX (7:45 p.m. ET). The call-in number is 877.820.7831, passcode 6637172#.
 
Kelly, 30, spent the past 4 seasons (2015-18) pitching for the SK Wyverns of the KBO League in South Korea, going 48-32 with a 3.86 ERA (313 ER in 729.2 IP), 641 strikeouts and 206 walks in 119 games (118 starts). Acting as the staff ace last season, he helped lead the Wyverns to the 2018 Korean Series title, going 12-7 with a 4.09 ERA (72 ER in 158.1 IP), .250 opponent average, 161 strikeouts and 47 walks in 28 starts, including a 6-2 mark with a 2.93 ERA (25 ER in 76.2 IP) in 13 starts after July 1. Kelly also made a pair of starts in the Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears, earning the victory in Game 3. 
 
While pitching in the KBO, Kelly ranked among the league leaders in several categories, including ERA (4th in 2016 with 3.60; 7th in 2017 with 3.68), wins (3rd in 2017 with 16), strikeouts (1st in 2017 with 189; 2nd in 2016 with 152) and innings (2nd in 2016 with 200.1; 3rd in 2017 with 190.0; 9th in 2015 with 181.0).   
 
Kelly, who played 5 seasons in the Rays' organization (2010-14) after being selected in the eighth round of the 2010 draft, was 39-26 with a 3.40 ERA (199 ER in 527.1 IP), .237 opponent average, 379 strikeouts and 194 walks in 125 games (76 starts). He was named an International League All-Star in 2014 while playing for Triple-A Durham, going 9-4 with a 2.76 ERA (35 ER in 114.0 IP) in 28 games (15 starts). 
 
Kelly grew up in Scottsdale, Ariz., and attended Desert Mountain High School, Yavapai College and Arizona State University, which would make him the fifth player in D-backs history to play high school, college (4-year university) and the Majors all in Arizona, joining Jake Barrett, Tuffy Gosewisch, Cody Ransom and Ed Vosberg. Additionally, Kelly would join Ransom (South Mountain CC) as the only players to play high school, junior college, college and the Majors all in Arizona.