Kelly says he'll 'probably be wearing Red Sox uniform'

Casey Kelly didn’t need to think long Thursday about his future athletic career once the Boston Red Sox selected him with the 30th overall pick in the first round of baseball’s amateur draft.

“They picked me in the first round so I’ll probably be wearing a Red Sox uniform,” the Sarasota (Fla.) High School star said just minutes after the pick was announced.

Kelly said Boston has already told his family that it is comfortable with a set of financial parameters that was floated to baseball executives before the draft.

“They knew the price was going to be a little higher because of football,” the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Kelly said.

Kelly signed with Tennessee to play quarterback in February. Barring an unforeseen snag in the negotiations, his arrival in Knoxville seems very unlikely.

A possible snag could arise from Kelly’s future position, claimed Pat Kelly, Casey’s father and a minor league manager.

“They (the Red Sox) like him better as a pitcher but they want to give him a chance to play shortstop,” Pat Kelly said. “He doesn’t want to pitch. I think that’s going to be a big part of the negotiations.”

The Red Sox believe his talent was too good to pass up.

“You can hear the passion in his voice when he talks about baseball,” Boston general manager Theo Epstein told the Associated Press. “We wouldn’t have taken him if we didn’t feel in our hearts like he wanted to go out and play professional ball.”

Kelly hit .473 with five homers and 31 RBIs this season. The right-hander also pitched in 12 games, going 8-1 with a 1.16 ERA and two saves. He had 77 strikeouts and 12 walks in 66 innings.

Jason McLeod, Boston’s director of amateur scouting, told the AP that Kelly will wind up a pitcher rather than a shortstop.

“We’re talking about one of the better athletes in the draft,” McLeod said. “He could move quick through the minor league system if we can get him signed.”

The Kellys gambled by floating out the necessary financial parameters before the draft. Teams that couldn’t afford Kelly wouldn’t consider picking him. That’s why the Red Sox and New York Yankees, with the two highest payrolls in the majors, were considered two of Kelly’s most likely candidates.

Kelly worked out for the Yankees on Wednesday, but New York selected right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole from Lutheran High in Orange, Calif., with the 28th pick.

Kelly was sliding down the draft board until being picked with the last pick of the first round. Kelly was projected by various media to fall in one of three spots in the first round: No. 7 to the Cincinnati Reds, No. 19 to the Chicago Cubs or No. 21 to the Detroit Tigers.

But instead of choosing Kelly, those three clubs decided to pick college prospects.

The Reds picked first baseman Yonder Alonso from Miami. The Cubs chose right-handed pitcher Andrew Cashner from Texas Christian. The Tigers selected right-handed pitcher Ryan Perry from Arizona.

“I think that’s probably why he slipped,” Pat Kelly said, referring to the family’s financial requests. “He feels like he should be compensated if he does give up football.”

Perhaps negotiating via the media, Pat Kelly claimed football is still a possibility.

“I don’t think he’s going to be an easy sign,” he said. “I don’t think a lot of people realize how serious he is about football.”

Pat Kelly said he’s not concerned with MLB’s Aug. 15 deadline to sign players drafted on Thursday. Instead, Pat Kelly said he wants a contract signed before July. Otherwise, his son could enroll at UT for the second session of summer school.

That seems unlikely. Once a player enrolls in college, he cannot sign a professional baseball contract for three years. However, the threat of playing football at UT is at least leverage for the Kellys as they negotiate with the Red Sox.

An excited Casey Kelly wasn’t worried about leverage as friends and family celebrated around him as he spoke via telephone to the News Sentinel.

Kelly just seemed ready to begin his baseball career as soon as possible. That can begin once he signs that professional contract.

“Hopefully,” Kelly said, “we can get it done soon.”

Kelly’s omission from the 2008 class creates a void at quarterback. Expect UT to try to land a high-profile quarterback, if not two, for the 2009 class.

Getting Bully: Offensive lineman Alex Bullard from Brentwood Academy will announce his college decision on Friday at an 11 a.m. EDT.

The 6-foot-4, 275-pounder is considering UT, Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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