According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, catcher Carson Kelly and the Chicago Cubs have agreed to a two-year, $11.5 million contract.
Once a former top prospect, Kelly revitalized his career last year in a part-time role with the Detroit Tigers. The Cubs will sign Kelly to a low-risk contract likely to use him in a similar manner.
At one point, many viewed Kelly, then a top catching prospect with the St. Louis Cardinals, as the heir apparent to Yadier Molina. But with Molina locked in the position with no end in sight, St. Louis flipped Kelly to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Paul Goldschmidt trade.
He spent four and a half seasons as Arizona’s primary catcher and showed some promise. Unfortunately, he never fully developed as hoped and struggled with injuries and poor performance. In his Diamondbacks career, Kelly appeared in 384 games, tallied 1,299 plate appearances, and hit .230/.316/.397 (92 OPS+).
Arizona cut ties with Kelly mid-way through 2023. While he continued to struggle after the Tigers acquired him soon after, Kelly proved he had much in the tank in 2024. He started the season as a backup in Detroit but quickly earned a bigger role due to his solid production.
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