On Sunday afternoon, Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz unfortunately suffered a serious injury that'll keep him out for a large chunk of the 2023 season. In the aftermath of the injury, there was a benches-clearing fracas between the Pirates and White Sox and though it wasn't really to the level of being a true fight -- there were no punches thrown and no ejections -- it was enough that both bullpens emptied onto the field.
During the course of this, White Sox reliever Joe Kelly apparently injured himself. He was placed on the injured list before Monday's game against the Twins due to a right groin strain. Word from the team (via the Chicago Sun-Times) was Kelly strained that groin while running in from the bullpen when the benches cleared.
Kelly, 34, has made three appearances this season for the White Sox, allowing three runs on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings. That's an incredibly small sample, arriving at a 10.13 ERA and 1.88 WHIP.
Of course, this isn't the first time seeing Kelly's name in the news in relation to bench-clearing issues. In 2018, while with the Red Sox, Kelly hit Tyler Austin with a pitch and there was a throwdown, all of which resulted in a six-game suspension for Kelly. Many will also remember him throwing tight pitches to Astros hitters Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa in 2020 and later making funny faces in the Astros' direction as he walked off the field.
This time around, it's much less eventful but still carries a twinge of humor given the ridiculousness of it all.
