Kelly quickened his tempo between pitches Monday, relative to his previous start, and delivered four shutout innings, the Boston Globe reports. The better tempo led to more strikes. "It gets my body going towards the plate better," Kelly said. "Get myself in a more athletic windup. Ultimately it allows me to command the strike zone a lot better. I could put the fastball where I wanted to."

EDGE Analysis

Kelly allowed three hits and a walk while striking out three on the day, but more encouraging than the tempo was his ability to work out of men-on-base situations. The Pirates had men in scoring position in three of Kelly's four innings, but he was able to make pitches when needed.

Kelly admitted his mechanics were off while making his second spring start Wednesday, the Boston Herald reports. He allowed one run on three hits (all singles) and two walks while striking out three in 2.1 innings.

EDGE Analysis

The starters should be able to get through three innings in their second start, so from that standpoint, it wasn't a good outing. Kelly said he was going too slow in the windup and then too quickly from the stretch, something that pitching coach Carl Willis pointed out to him. He's still in line to be Boston's fifth starter.

Kelly pitched two scoreless innings Friday, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out one against the Rays.

EDGE Analysis

Like all pitchers at this time of the year, Kelly worked on his fastball command primarily and sprinkled in a small sampling of offspeed stuff. The right-hander is the leader for the final spot in Boston's rotation, but he won't be given a long leash if he's not performing well. When he's been bad, Kelly has fallen into the habit of throwing his fastball too much. It's key for him to mix in the offspeed stuff, as he did during an impressive eight-game run at the end of last season when he went to his slider and changeup more often.

Kelly "certainly has the lead on that fifth spot" in Boston's starting rotation, acknowledged manager John Farrell, the Providence Journal reports.

EDGE Analysis

Someone with Kelly's track record should not be assured of a job, but his finish to the 2015 season left a positive impression on Farrell and other organizational decision-makers. After a demotion to Triple-A Pawtucket last year, Kelly began implementing his slider and changeup more often and had an encouraging 3.77 ERA over his final 11 starts. That late-season performance gives him the lead on a cast of characters that includes Steven Wright, Henry Owens, Roenis Elias and Brian Johnson. Injury or performance could lead to Farrell to alter course, but as we sit here at the end of February, Kelly is the likely fifth starter.

Kelly was the final player to arrive to Boston's spring training facility in Fort Myers (Fla.) on Wednesday, the Boston Herald reports.

EDGE Analysis

Kelly had stayed in California to be with his wife for the birth of the couple's first child, so he begins training camp a bit behind the other starters. He's in line to be Boston's fifth starter, though there's been some recent talk of Henry Owens being given an opportunity to compete for the job as well. If Kelly does start the season in the rotation, manager John Farrell will not be giving him a long leash. Should Kelly underwhelm early on, as he's done at times with the Red Sox, Farrell has Owens, Steven Wright and Roenis Elias close by to take over.

Kelly was assured by manager John Farrell that he will be in Boston's starting rotation when the 2016 season begins, the Boston Herald reports.

EDGE Analysis

Kelly may start the season in the rotation, but if he gets off to a slow start, Farrell's in no position to be patient with him. Farrell, a manager that's guided Boston to two consecutive last-place finishes, could be forced to relegate Kelly to the bullpen or Triple-A and use one of the team's depth-starting options.

Kelly agreed to a one-year, $2.6 million deal with the Red Sox on Friday, avoiding arbitration, the Boston Herald's Jason Mastrodonato reports.

EDGE Analysis

He will be in competition for a rotation spot in spring training, and of the back-end options in Boston, Kelly has as much upside as anyone. The righty notched a 3.77 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 59.2 innings in the second half last season, and he could be a sleeper candidate thanks to a fastball that can touch 99 mph. Make sure to follow his performance in spring training leading up to drafts, as he could make for a nice endgame play in deeper leagues if it appears he is one of the frontrunners for the final rotation spot.

Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski prefers Kelly (shoulder) as a starter, the Boston Globe reports. The right-handed Kelly, who has been shut down for the season with soreness in his shoulder, had been considered as a candidate for the bullpen.

EDGE Analysis

Dombrowski feels there's more value in a pitcher who can start and eat up innings and feels that's how Kelly is best deployed.

Kelly is just dealing with right shoulder soreness and the issue isn't serious, 93.7 WEEI FM reports.

EDGE Analysis

Kelly was shut down for the season due to the shoulder issue, but fortunately there's nothing more serious underlying. The 27-year-old will finish the season posting a 4.82 ERA and 1.44 WHIP with 110 strikeouts over 134.1 innings. He will enter the offseason in his first year of arbitration, but the injury shouldn't have much impact on the negotiations.

Kelly (shoulder) has been officially shut down for the season, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.

EDGE Analysis

Interim manager Torey Lovullo indicated this was likely after Kelly's outing Tuesday was cut short by shoulder tightness/fatigue, but the team officially ended the right-hander's 2015 season Wednesday. Kelly has been sent back to Boston for an MRI on the shoulder. Rich Hill, who shined in his first start, figures to stick in the Boston rotation.