Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly hit two home runs while collecting five RBI in Chicago's 13-11 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday afternoon. The first was a two-run shot off DBacks' starter Corbin Burnes to put the Cubs up 2-0. The second was a three-run shot off Bryce Jarvis that started a six-run eighth inning for Chicago. The 30-year-old now has six HR on the season after his monster game against his former team. His 1.675 OPS may start to earn him more playing time, potentially taking away from Miguel Amaya who's having a strong start to the season as well. Kelly's next chance to do more damage will be Saturday against scheduled DBacks starter Merrill Kelly.
Carson Kelly Returns In Series Finale Against Padres
Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly (hand) is back behind the dish to catch left-hander Matthew Boyd in Wednesday's series finale against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Kelly will hit eighth in the batting order against Padres right-hander Nick Pivetta after missing the first two games of the series in SD due to a left-hander injury that he suffered when he was hit by a pitch on Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. With Kelly returning, Miguel Amaya will head to the bench. The 30-year-old veteran has had a phenomenal start to his first season with the Cubbies, going 10-for-24 (.417) with four home runs and 13 RBI in nine games played. Kelly isn't going to be this good all year long as he shares playing time with Amaya, but fantasy managers are riding his hot streak early on. He has two hits and an RBI in just four career at-bats against Pivetta.
Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly (hand) is out of the lineup for the second straight day on Tuesday against the Padres. He was hit in the hand by a pitch on Sunday, and while the x-rays came back negative, he's yet to see the field since. Miguel Amaya will get the start instead, who has handled the majority of the catching duties this year for Chicago. Kelly remains day-to-day, with manager Craig Counsell hoping he will be available again sometime this week. Despite the limited plate appearances, he's launched four homers with a .417 batting average in the nine games he has played.
Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly (wrist) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Monday's game against the San Diego Padres. Kelly was hit on the wrist by a pitch during Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was forced to exit the contest and undergo X-rays to determine the severity of the injury. It appears Kelly has avoided any major injuries to his wrist. For now, Wrist should be considered as day-to-day, but he could land on the injured list if he doesn't get better in a few days. Miguel Amaya will do the catching and bat eighth versus right-hander Dylan Cease on Monday.
MLB.com's Taylor McGregor reports that X-rays on Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly's hand came back negative. The 30-year-old took a 93 mph Tyler Glasnow sinker to his left hand in the bottom of the fifth inning on Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, forcing him from the contest. Fortunately, he was able to stay in the game another inning before teammate Miguel Amaya replaced him, and his imaging was without concern. Kelly has been fantastic to start the season, batting a blistering .416 with an absurd 1.637 OPS over 24-at-bats. Six of his 10 hits have gone for extra bases, and he's walking a ludicrous 29.1% of the time while holding a stellar 8.1% strikeout rate. There doesn't appear to be too much concern over his hand, so consider him day-to-day for now. Still, fantasy managers will want to monitor his status.
Carson Kelly Homers Twice, Gets On Base Five Times
Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly continued his torrid start to the season on Saturday, going 3-for-3 with two homers. Kelly added three runs, three RBI, and two walks to round out his day. The 30-year-old backstop is now up to an incredible .417 AVG and 1.613 OPS to go with four homers, eight runs scored, and 13 RBI. While he isn't currently playing every day, if Kelly continues to hit anywhere close to the level he has so far he could quickly find himself playing more often. That being said, he should only be rostered in two catcher leagues while he is splitting catcher duties.
Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly came ready to play during Saturday's game against the San Diego Padres. Kelly batted ninth in the lineup, but that didn't stop him from having a big day at the plate. He started off the scoring with a single in the first inning. Later, Kelly blasted a three-run home run to give the Cubs some more insurance runs. He finished his day at the plate 2-for-3 with a homer, walk, and four RBI. He'll likely continue splitting time behind the plate with Miguel Amaya, but he's making a case for more starts.
Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly went a perfect 4-for-4 on Monday night in Sacramento, hitting for the cycle with a single, a double, a triple, and a home run. He finished with three runs scored, five RBI and a pair of walks as well, as his Cubs rolled to an 18-3 win over the Athletics in Sacramento. Kelly was making his third start of the season, as he continues to share time behind the plate with Miguel Amaya. The 30-year-old veteran is now 5-for-10 (.500) with an unsustainable .671 wOBA on the season after Monday's monster performance. He and Amaya have both looked good at the plate in the early going and remain affordable DFS streaming options whenever they're in Chicago's lineup.
Carson Kelly Agrees To Two-Year Contract With Cubs
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.
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