For a time this offseason, the Cubs had only one catcher on their 40-man roster, Miguel Amaya. Then they made a trade with the Angels to acquire Matt Thaiss, but it was generally thought Thaiss wasn’t quite the guy the Cubs wanted to pair with Amaya.
Monday, the Cubs got that guy:
As reported by @JonHeyman, the Cubs and C Carson Kelly are nearing a deal, per a source. Not done yet but its close.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) December 9, 2024
Carson Kelly was the Cardinals’ second-round pick in 2012 out of high school in Oregon. He was a Top 100 prospect in 2017 and 2018 and was thought enough of to be included in the deal that sent Paul Goldschmidt from the Diamondbacks to St. Louis.
Kelly had a couple of good years with Arizona (2019 and 2021) but in recent years has missed time with various injuries, including wrist and toe fractures and an oblique strain. Last year, in 91 games split between the Tigers and Rangers, Kelly batted .238/.313/.374 with nine home runs. He also had a pretty good rate of catching runners stealing — 26 percent both in 2023 and 2024, well above league average.
Kelly turns 30 in July, so 2025 will be his age-30 season. This seems a very reasonable thing to do at a reasonable cost to provide a partner for Amaya. Thaiss will likely wind up at Triple-A Iowa as the “break glass in case of emergency” catcher.
When this deal is officially announced by the Cubs, the 40-man roster will be full. I will update this post when there’s more news on this, including a contract money amount.
