Though the Cubs are approaching the deadline looking to add to the roster, they’ve also discussed catcher Carson Kelly with some of the many clubs who are seeking catching upgrades this summer, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. Chicago has a well-regarded catching prospect, Owen Ayers, on the cusp of the majors and a solid backup in 27-year-old Miguel Amaya.
The Cubs would surely only deal Kelly if it netted them major league help in other areas — presumably rotation or bullpen help. There’s no guarantee a deal will come together, but it’s a good reminder that few teams in today’s game stick to one pure “buy” or “sell” lane when deadline season rolls around.
The 32-year-old Kelly is having a solid season behind the plate. His .261/.351/.372 batting line is about six percent better than the league-average hitter, by measure of wRC+. The league-average catcher, it should be noted, tends to be around 12% worse than an average hitter at the plate. Kelly’s line doesn’t necessarily stand out relative to the rest of the league, but it does stand out relative to the standard catcher.
Kelly is playing out the second season of a two-year, $11.5MM contract. He’s still owed about $1.56MM of this season’s $5MM salary, and there’s a $1.5MM buyout on a $7.5MM mutual option for the 2027 season that obviously won’t be exercised by both parties. (It’s been 12 years since a mutual option was exercised in MLB; they’re largely used as accounting measures/small-scale deferrals.) He has a strong defensive reputation, and while Kelly went through a particularly brutal stretch at the plate in 2022-23, he’s been at or above league average since 2024 — a sample of more than 1000 plate appearances.
The Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Rangers and White Sox are among the teams poking around for catching help. Texas acquired Logan O’Hoppe from the Angels last night but optioned the struggling former top prospect to Triple-A; they could use a more immediate upgrade. The Yankees, meanwhile, are known to specifically be looking for a righty-swinging catcher. Kelly checks that box.
The catching market at one point looked like it might have a wide array of names for teams seeking upgrades. The possibilities have shrunk in recent weeks. Shea Langeliers was always a long shot to be moved, but his recent knee surgery wiped out any chance of that. The Rockies are maintaining an extremely high asking price on Hunter Goodman, who’s controllable for three additional seasons. The Twins have long been expected to move Ryan Jeffers, but they’re up to .500 now and GM Jeremy Zoll has plainly said he plans to act as a buyer. They could still move Jeffers for big league bullpen help — a similar gambit to the one the Cubs are apparently weighing — but Zoll specifically downplayed the idea of trading Jeffers and voiced a desire to keep the current group together. It’d only take one good offer to change his mind, but for now it doesn’t appear to be Plan A in Minnesota.
Cincinnati’s Tyler Stephenson now stands as the top rental who’s obviously available, but Kelly gives clubs an alternative to consider. Miami’s Liam Hicks is also at least being discussed in trades, but he’s only a part-time catcher and has four additional years of club control left, so the Fish needn’t be in a rush to make anything happen there.
There’d be plenty of risk for the Cubs if they opted to move Kelly and turn things over to Ayers, even in a timeshare with Amaya. Ayers has never been touted as a top prospect. The 25-year-old was Chicago’s 19th round pick in 2024, signing out of Marshall for only a $50K bonus. He hit well in Low-A last year, but that’s not a huge surprise for a 24-year-old college player who’s squaring off against younger competition. He’s broken out in a major way this year, however, climbing from High-A to Triple-A and raking at a .320/.429/.621 clip with 23 homers, nine steals and a 14.9% walk rate.
That’s obviously thrust Ayers into the ranks of the best catching prospects in the sport, but he still has just two total seasons of professional experience and only 10 games above the Double-A level. If he gets to the majors after a Kelly trade and looks overmatched, the fallback options are Amaya and Moises Ballesteros. The latter entered the season as the Cubs’ primary designated hitter but was optioned his hot start gave way to a lengthy slump. He’s not hitting well in Triple-A either, and his defense has long been a question mark. He’s spent as much time DH’ing in Triple-A as he has behind the plate.
