DETROIT, MI: On the Detroit Tigers trade deadline to-do list, the first domino has fallen. According to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, catcher Carson Kelly has been traded to the Texas Rangers. This is hardly shocking considering that top catching prospect Dillon Dingler enjoyed a rare day off with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens and Jake Rogers missed the previous two games in a 24-hour period.
Tyler Owens, a right-handed pitcher, and Liam Hicks, a catcher, will be sent to Detroit by Texas. Both groups have made the agreement public.
Kelly, 30, was signed by the Tigers in August of the previous year. Kelly, a 2012 second-round selection by the Cardinals, was regarded as one of the sport's top-50 prospects when he was traded for former franchise player Paul Goldschmidt to Arizona before the 2019 campaign.
Kelly's first three years in Arizona went rather well, combining great work in the outfield with a slash line of .239/.333/.435 that was good for a league average wRC+ of 100. However, Kelly regressed in 2022 and had an absolutely dreadful 2023 season with the Diamondbacks, hitting just .226/.283/.298 across 32 games.
The Rangers, who have had a fairly dismal season overall, should strengthen their position with the signing of Kelly. Jonah Heim's offensive production has declined this year after an All-Star season in 2023; in 90 games, he is hitting just.234/.281/.346 (75 wRC+).
In contrast, backup Andrew Knizner's offensive performance has been nothing short of awful. Knizner has only hit.167/.183/.211 in 37 games with the Rangers this season; his wRC+ of 4 indicates that he has performed 96% lower than the league average hitter. Kelly's arrival should give the team a significant improvement over Knizner in their catching combination while also enabling the Rangers to reduce Heim's workload.
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