The Cubs signed catcher to a two-year free agent contract Carson Kelly on Friday evening. The Apex Baseball customer is reportedly guaranteed $11.5 million, with the chance to earn an additional $500,000 annually through incentives. Kelly will earn a salary of $5 million each of the next two seasons and has $1.5 million guaranteed on a $7.5 million mutual option for 2027. For starting 81 and 91 games each season would trigger a $250,000 bonus. Chicago already had a spot for 40 players on its roster after trading away two roster players this afternoon Kyle Tucker Trade.

Kelly was the top unsigned catcher. The thin market has developed quickly. Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Higashioka, Gary Sanchez, Danny Jansen, Jacob Stallings And Austin Hedges have all received MLB deals. Kelly, along with Higashioka and d’Arnaud, secure a second guaranteed year, surpassing the $10 million mark.

The right-swinging backstop had a nice year in 2024. Kelly started the season particularly well, hitting .240/.325/.391 with seven home runs in 203 appearances for the Tigers. Detroit traded him to the Rangers at the deadline. That was supposed to give Kelly a chance to join a contender, but the Rangers fell short while the Tigers made a surprising playoff push in recent months. Kelly’s hitting faded after the game as he hit .235/.291/.343 with two home runs in 31 games as a Ranger.

This mediocre result led Texas to pursue Higashioka instead. Still, Kelly’s combined .238/.313/.374 slash line in 313 plate appearances is solid performance from a part-time catcher. Statcast rated him positively for his work behind the plate, citing above-average framing and blocking metrics. While Kelly’s pure arm strength was middle of the pack, he reduced above-average base stealers by 26.3%.

That was a rebound after Kelly had consecutive poor offensive performances in 2022 and 2023. He combined to hit .210/.281/.320 between the Diamondbacks and Tigers. Kelly had shown at times early in his career in Arizona that he was a true No. 1 catcher. He has since established himself as a quality part-time player.

That’s the role he should play in Chicago. The Cubs can split playing time fairly evenly between Kelly and the 25-year-old Miguel Amaya. A former top contender, Amaya struggled at the start of the year before suffering a tear in the final two months of the season. He finished the season hitting .232/.288/.357 in 363 plate appearances. The strong finish wasn’t enough for the Cubs to forgo the catcher market entirely, but it did reduce their urgency to consider trading from the top of the farm system to get a clear starter.

According to RosterResource’s calculations, Kelly’s salary brings Chicago’s projected payroll to around $199 million. The average annual value of $5.75 million brings the estimated value of the competitive balance tax to $215 million. That puts them about $25 million below the base luxury tax threshold.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported on Monday that the Cubs and Kelly are close to a deal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first Report the $11.5 million guarantee. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers first reported the existence of the ’27 mutual option and the potential $500,000 in annual incentives. Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma had the salary breakdown and bonus details. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.