Keone Kela

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Keone Kela is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League. He was born on April 16, 1993, in Los Angeles, California, and bats and throws right-handed.

Kela’s path to the majors started in high school in California and Washington. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 2011 but didn’t sign. He then played one season of college baseball at Everett Community College as a center fielder. The Texas Rangers drafted him in the 12th round in 2012 as a pitcher and he signed with them.

He progressed through the minors and reached the majors in 2015 with the Rangers, debuting on April 7. He earned his first win on May 2, 2015, and finished that season with a 2.39 ERA. In 2016 he had elbow surgery and went 5-1 with a 6.09 ERA in 35 games. After a stint in the minors and shoulder issues in 2017 (including stem-cell therapy), he became the Rangers’ closer in 2018.

On July 31, 2018, Kela was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2019 he appeared in 32 games for Pittsburgh, posting a 2.12 ERA with 33 strikeouts, but was involved in bench-clearing incidents that led to suspensions. He pitched sparingly in 2020. In 2021 he signed with the San Diego Padres, but May 19 surgery for Tommy John ended his season after 12 appearances and a 5.06 ERA.

Kela’s career then took him to several teams. He spent time in the Diamondbacks’ system in 2022, briefly with the Dodgers’ organization, and played for Tokyo Yakult Swallows’ farm team in Japan. He signed with Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos in February 2024, had strong relief numbers, but was suspended late in the season. He re-signed with Tecolotes in 2025, briefly joined the Chicago White Sox on a minor league deal in April, then returned to Tecolotes in June, posting solid numbers.

Personal: When he was born, his mother was 16 and his father was 15. Although born in Los Angeles, his family has Hawaii roots; his grandparents are from Keaukaha on the Big Island, and he spent summers there.