SURPRISE, Ariz. \u2014 The Cubs went in a slightly different direction this winter when they signed Carson Kelly to pair with homegrown catcher Miguel Amaya in his third major-league season.<\/p>\n
Veteran Yan Gomes was Amaya\u2019s complement for much of the last two seasons, Gomes\u2019 12th and 13th in the majors. Amaya supplanted backup catcher Tucker Barnhart, another defense-first veteran, in 2023.<\/p>\n
The next year, the Cubs picked up -Tomas Nido and Christian Bethancourt to fill the backup role in the second half after releasing Gomes.<\/p>\n
Kelly, on the other hand, is coming off a career resurgence in Detroit. And though he\u2019s entering his 10th major-league season, he\u2019s still just 30 years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a catcher in the prime of his -career, frankly,\u201d Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s also really eager to just be a teammate and be part of the team and kind of just do his job for the team, whatever that may be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Counsell noticed that eagerness right away.<\/p>\n
Spring training is always an important time for a catcher joining a new team and learning a new pitching staff. Kelly, who has a house in Arizona, said he reported to the Cubs\u2019 spring-training complex a couple weeks before the first official workout day for pitchers and catchers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a lot of guys here early, ready to work,\u201d Kelly said, \u201cand it\u2019s been fun getting to know everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Right-hander Jameson Taillon threw to Kelly in bullpen sessions and live batting practice before they paired up Tuesday for Taillon\u2019s first spring start.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very curious,\u201d Taillon said, \u201cand asking a lot of great questions, like, \u2018What do you like to hear in a mound visit?\u2019 or \u2018What are things that get you back on track?\u2019 And so he\u2019s already working really hard at the relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly caught Jordan Wicks\u2019 second Cactus League start of the year Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always like throwing to new catchers because it\u2019s a different way to look at your own stuff,\u201d Wicks said. \u201cLike [Thursday], I threw a whole bunch of sliders to righties, and, honestly, I had a lot of fun doing it. It\u2019s something I don\u2019t normally do, but I feel like it was a really good day, and it was also nice because I needed reps with that pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cubs have -options when it comes to divvying up the workload between Amaya and Kelly. Some of that will come down to performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe felt like we wanted to create just a strong catching duo,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cAnd both guys we feel like are capable of handling the bigger share, if we have to. And then if one guy grabs it, then we\u2019re fine with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cubs have also spoken highly of Kelly\u2019s arm, so they could use him more against speedy teams that run a lot. But they\u2019ve also seen improvement in that area from Amaya, who underwent Tommy John surgery as a minor-leaguer after the 2021 season.<\/p>\n
Amaya broke out offensively halfway through last season. And pitchers have spoken highly of his preparation and presence behind the plate since Gomes suffered a concussion in May 2023 that forced the Cubs to call up Amaya straight out of Double-A.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still think this about Miguel: He\u2019s an improving player,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen it in this camp, he\u2019s an improving player. So I\u2019m really excited about what the future holds for Miguel. I think we\u2019ve got a good, regular catcher on our hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly, too, has been impressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a hard game, and especially as a catcher, you\u2019re balancing the staff, and then you\u2019re expected to hit, as well,\u201d he said. \u201cSo there\u2019s a lot of moving parts, but he\u2019s been great. It\u2019s great to have conversations with him and learn with him. And I look forward to the partnership through the year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Cubs signed Kelly this offseason to a two-year deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":37754,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n