Cubs sign catcher Carson Kelly

At times this offseason, the Cubs only had one catcher on their 40-man roster: Miguel Amaya. They then made a trade with the Angels to acquire Matt Thaiss, but it was widely believed that Thaiss wasn’t quite the guy the Cubs wanted to pair with Amaya.

On Monday the Cubs got this guy:

Carson Kelly was the Cardinals’ second-round pick in 2012 after graduating from high school in Oregon. He was a top 100 prospect in 2017 and 2018 and was considered high enough to be included in the deal that sent Paul Goldschmidt from the Diamondbacks to St. Louis.

Kelly had a few good years at Arizona (2019 and 2021) but has missed time in recent years due to various injuries, including wrist and toe fractures and an oblique strain. Last year, Kelly hit .238/.313/.374 with nine home runs in 91 games between the Tigers and Rangers. He also had a pretty good rate of catching runners stealing — 26 percent in both 2023 and 2024, well above league average.

Kelly turns 30 in July, so 2025 will be his 30-year-old season. This seems like a very sensible and cost-effective measure to provide Amaya with a partner. Thaiss will likely end up at Triple-A Iowa as a “break glass catcher in an emergency.”

When this deal is officially announced by the Cubs, the 40-man roster will be full. I will update this post as soon as there is more news on this, including a contract money amount.