Kelly is starting at catcher and batting eighth in Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.
Kelly received a breather Tuesday but will return to the lineup Wednesday, sending Miguel Amaya to the bench. While Amaya has been effective with a .278 average and .798 OPS across 15 games, Kelly has been even better with a .371 average and 1.511 OPS in 13 appearances. As a result of the hot start, Kelly has seen his role grow, though Chicago will likely keep using both backstops fairly evenly.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Receiving Tuesday off
Rotowire
Kelly is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game versus the Dodgers.
Kelly went 0-for-4 in Sunday's contest but has been one of the biggest stories in baseball early this season with six homers and a 1.502 OPS through 49 plate appearances. The 30-year-old and Miguel Amaya continue to split playing time behind the plate, however, with Amaya getting the start Tuesday.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Not starting Saturday
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Kelly is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Kelly will get a breather Saturday after belting two home runs and driving in five runs while scoring an additional run himself in Friday's win. Miguel Amaya will catch for Ben Brown instead and bat eighth.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Goes deep twice Friday
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Kelly went 2-for-4 with a walk, two home runs, three total runs scored and five RBI in Friday's 13-11 win over the Diamondbacks.
Kelly had a monster game, going deep in the second inning with a runner on and then again in the eighth with three runners on. The veteran catcher now has six home runs and an absurd 1.675 OPS for the season. Kelly has seen his role grow due to the hot start, though Miguel Amaya is still seeing plenty of playing time as well.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Back in action Wednesday
Rotowire
Kelly (hand) will start at catcher and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Padres.
Kelly didn't play the last two days after being struck on the left hand by a pitch Sunday versus the Dodgers, but he will do the catching in Wednesday's rubber match. The 30-year-old backstop boasts a ridiculous 1.636 OPS this season as he shares catching duties with Miguel Amaya.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Sitting again Tuesday
Rotowire
Kelly (hand) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Padres.
Kelly will rest for a second consecutive day after taking a pitch off his hand during Sunday's game. Miguel Amaya will catch for Shota Imanaga and bat eighth Tuesday.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Not starting Monday
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Kelly (hand) isn't in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Padres.
Kelly underwent X-rays on his catching hand after being struck by a pitch during Sunday's matchup with the Dodgers, and while the tests came back negative, he won't draw the start behind the plate in Monday's series opener. Miguel Amaya will bat eighth in Kelly's absence.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: X-rays negative on hand
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Kelly (hand) underwent X-rays on his left hand, which came back negative, following Sunday's 4-2 win over the Dodgers, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Kelly left the game in the bottom of the sixth inning after being hit by a pitch on his left hand in the fifth frame. The catcher appears to have avoided any significant damage, and he can be considered day-to-day for the time being.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Continues to mash
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Kelly went 3-for-3 with two home runs, two walks, three total runs and three total RBI in a 16-0 rout of the Dodgers on Saturday.
Kelly made the score 3-0 in favor of the Cubs with a solo shot in the seventh inning, and he tacked on another long ball -- this time a two-run blast -- off position player Miguel Rojas in the ninth. The veteran catcher is already up to four home runs on the campaign, and he's added 13 RBI while slashing a fiery .417/.571/1.042. Perhaps most impressively, Kelly has drawn 10 walks while striking out just three times. The huge start has pushed Kelly into a near-even playing-time split behind the plate with Miguel Amaya, who also went deep Saturday and is off to a nice start offensively as well.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Sitting Friday
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Kelly is not in the Cubs' starting lineup against the Dodgers on Friday.
Kelly will sit for a second straight game as Miguel Amaya gets the start behind home plate and bats ninth against Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Kelly is 7-for-21 with two homers, eight walks, 10 RBI and five runs scored so far this season.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: On bench Wednesday
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Kelly is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.
Kelly will get some rest for the day game after a night game, allowing Miguel Amaya to receive a turn behind the plate. The veteran backstop has gotten off to a red-hot start to the 2025 season, slashing .333/.500/.762 with an 8:3 BB:K over 30 plate appearances.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Getting breather Monday
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Kelly is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rangers.
Miguel Amaya will receive a turn behind the plate while Kelly rests after starting at catcher in the Cubs' previous two contests. The playing time at catcher has tilted in favor of Kelly so far this season while he's gotten off to a scorching start with four extra-base hits and seven walks through his first 26 plate appearances.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Provides jolt Saturday
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Kelly went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run and four RBI in Saturday's 7-1 win over the Padres.
Kelly batted ninth but didn't let that stop him from having a big impact on the game. The veteran catcher slugged his second home run of the season, a three-run shot in the sixth inning, and chipped in another RBI for good measure. Kelly is off to a blistering start with a 1.658 OPS across 15 at-bats, though as a player with a career OPS of .687, regression figures to come in the near future. At the very least, Kelly is making a strong case to earn more playing time over Miguel Amaya.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Makes history with March cycle
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Kelly hit for the cycle against the Athletics in an 18-3 win Monday, going 4-for-4 with a home run, a triple, a double, two walks, three runs and five RBI.
Per ABC 7 Chicago, Kelly became the first MLB player in history to hit for the cycle in the month of March and just the 17th catcher to accomplish the feat. The plodding backstop got the most difficult hit in the cycle in his final plate appearance, ricocheting a hit off the center-field wall in the eighth inning and reaching third base after the ball rolled on the outfield grass. The triple was just the third of Kelly's 10-year big-league career. He had gone 1-for-6 over two starts prior to Monday's explosive performance.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Drawing another start
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Kelly is starting at catcher and will bat ninth Monday against the Athletics.
Kelly is in line for his second start behind the dish in four days after going 0-for-3 at the dish Friday against the Diamondbacks. He picked up his first hit of the season March 19 against the Dodgers during the Tokyo Series, also managing to draw a walk in the matchup.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Pops first spring home run
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Kelly went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks.
Kelly, who signed a two-year, $11.5 million contract with the Cubs in December, connected for his first spring home run in his new uniform. The veteran backstop was brought in to pair with Miguel Amaya, and both players figure to see plenty of playing time, at least to start the season. While Kelly's experience should be valuable for Chicago, he's a limited offensive player with less upside at the plate than Amaya.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Signs with Cubs
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Kelly signed a two-year, $11.5 million contract with the Cubs on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Over 91 games between Detroit and Texas in 2024, Kelly slashed .238/.313/.374 with nine home runs and 37 RBI. While his numbers may not jump off the page, he'll still provide competition in spring training to Miguel Amaya, who managed just a .645 OPS last season.
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Rangers' Carson Kelly: Halts hitless skid Friday
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Kelly started at designated hitter and went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 5-2 win over the Angels.
Kelly, who entered the game hitless in his previous 14 at-bats, snapped that run with a second-inning single. He then launched his second home run as a member of the Rangers in the fourth inning, extending the team's early lead to 4-0. Since being acquired from the Tigers at the trade deadline, Kelly has stolen at-bats from starter Jonah Heim, who has a .543 OPS since the beginning of August.
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Rangers' Carson Kelly: Entering lineup Thursday
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Kelly will start at catcher and bat eighth in Thursday's game against the Blue Jays.
Texas will make room in the lineup for both of its catchers Thursday, as top backstop Jonah Heim will get a day off behind the plate and serve as the Rangers' designated hitter. Even though Heim sits atop the depth chart, Kelly has still received a fair amount of playing time by the standards of No. 2 catchers since he was acquired from the Tigers on July 28. In 26 games with Texas, Kelly has slashed .250/.308/.333 with one home run, seven RBI and 10 runs.
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Rangers' Carson Kelly: Losing work to Heim
Rotowire
Kelly is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
Kelly appeared to have worked his way into a timeshare at catcher with Jonah Heim earlier this month while the latter was slumping, but the playing time behind the dish seems to be tilting back in Heim's favor. Heim will pick up his third start at catcher in four games while Kelly returns to the bench after he had caught in Saturday's 13-5 loss.
