Video: Dodgers' Joe Kelly destroys Yankees as 8th-best MLB team after World Series win | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly criticized the New York Yankees after his team's five-game win in the 2024 World Series.

“It was just a mismatch from the start,” Kelly said on the show Baseball is not boring Podcast. “If we had a playoff rebuild, they might be the eighth or ninth best playoff team, you know what I mean? You put the Padres ahead of you, you put the Phillies ahead of you.” “If you put the Mets ahead of them, you put the Braves ahead of them.”

“It was just a complete mismatch,” he added.

Kelly did not appear in Los Angeles' postseason run because of a shoulder problem.

The 36-year-old previously mocked the Dodgers' World Series opponent over rapper Fat Joe's performance before Game 3 of the Fall Classic at Yankee Stadium.

“They started kicking the ball around and playing Yankee defense,” Kelly said of the Erich Richter New York Post. “Oh, he was on the Jumbotron, I'm pretty sure, right before the fifth. I looked over at (Brent) Honeywell and said 'The Fat Joe Curse, watch out.' and we started chopping, chopping, chopping. And bad game, bad game, bad game. And I end up getting my second game with the Dodgers.

Although the veteran reliever wasn't impressed with New York, it's hard to argue that the team wasn't one of the majors' best heading into the 2024 season. The Yankees finished with an American League-leading 94-68 record, while their plus-147 run differential was second-best of any team behind Los Angeles.

Still, the Dodgers' relatively easy series win probably didn't make New York as formidable as other opponents. Los Angeles survived a five-game battle with the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series before defeating the Mets in six games in the NL Championship Series.

In 35 appearances last season, Kelly finished the season with a 4.78 ERA while recording 35 strikeouts in 32 innings. He is currently set to enter unrestricted free agency after earning $8 million for his 2024 campaign.

Although the Yankees won their first AL pennant since 2009, Kelly wasn't convinced they were among the majors' top teams after the outcome of the 2024 World Series.