Carson Kelly DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Chicago Cubs and free-agent catcher Carson Kelly have agreed to a two-year contract worth $11.5 million. Kelly opened the 2024 campaign catching for the Tigers before finishing his season with the Rangers. Across 91 games in the majors, the veteran backstop carried a .238/.318/.374 slash line with nine doubles, nine home runs, and a 25:55 BB:K. The 30-year-old spent most of his professional career playing with the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2019 through 2023. Overall, Kelly holds a career .224/.307/.373 slash line. Kelly will now likely slot in as the No. 2 option behind Miguel Amaya behind the dish. Last season, Amaya took a nice step forward in his second major-league season, posting an impressive .271/.316/.444 line after the All-Star break. Fantasy managers should still expect Amaya to see most of the starts to open the 2025 season.

Free-agent catcher Carson Kelly and the Chicago Cubs are making progress toward a deal, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman. The Cubs currently have Miguel Amaya as their primary catcher while being backed up by former Angels backstop Matt Thais. If Chicago were to add Kelly, he'd be Amaya's primary backup in 2025. The 30-year-old was a former second-rounder by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012 and has nine years of MLB experience with four different teams. He's bounced around a lot the last two years and spent 2024 with the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers, slashing a combined .238/.313/.374 with nine home runs and 37 RBI in 91 games. Most of his production came back in Arizona, particularly in 2019, when he hit .245 with a career-high 18 homers. Kelly has decent pop and is a decent defender but won't have much fantasy appeal in a backup role to Amaya.

The Texas Rangers have acquired catcher Carson Kelly from the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. This is far from a blockbuster move, but this gives the Rangers catcher depth behind Jonah Heim. The 30-year-old backstop is slashing .242/.327/.393 with seven home runs and 29 RBI this season. The Tigers were likely looking to open up a roster spot for prospect Dillon Dingler who appears to be ready for the big league level. The assumption is that Dingler will get regular playing time down the stretch of the season with Kelly gone.

Detroit Tigers catcher Carson Kelly (rib cage) has been scratched from Friday's starting lineup against the visiting Kansas City Royals with left rib-cage soreness. He will be available off the bench, however. In his place, Jake Rogers will start behind the plate and will bat eighth against Royals right-hander Seth Lugo. The fact that Kelly is available off the bench means that his injury probably isn't very serious, so the 29-year-old backstop could have a chance to return for Saturday's contest. The former second-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012 is hitting just .205 (9-for-44) on the year with a homer and six RBI for Detroit. Rogers has been even worse, going 6-for-45 (.133) with a homer and two RBI, so DFS gamers should look elsewhere at the catcher position on Friday.

Detroit Tigers catcher Carson Kelly has impressed the organization with his play during spring training. He has been a solid defender and is slashing .290/.353/.869 with two homers and five RBI this spring. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch recently said that Kelly could get a good chunk of playing time this season. Kelly was once a promising prospect, but he hasn't been able to put it all together at the MLB level. There have been flashes of solid play from Kelly, which is what has kept him around until now. Kelly is likely to split up the playing time with Jake Rogers behind the plate. That could make Kelly worth snagging in two-catcher formats or possibly AL-only leagues.