TORONTO — The Texas Rangers have made their first move of baseball’s trade deadline season.
The Rangers acquired catcher Carson Kelly in a trade with the Detroit Tigers in exchange for minor league catcher Liam Hicks and minor league right-handed pitcher Tyler Owens, the team announced Sunday night. Kelly, 30, has appeared in 60 games with the Tigers this season, batting .240/.325/.391 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs. Texas is currently at the 40-man roster limit and Kelly can be added to the active roster if he reports to the team.
The Rangers acquired catcher Carson Kelly from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for minor league catcher Liam Hicks and right-handed pitcher Tyler Owens.
— Texas Rangers Public Relations (@TXRangersPR) July 29, 2024
Kelly has spent the past year and a half with Detroit after four years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and three with the St. Louis Cardinals. His WAR this season is 1.7, good for eighth among AL catchers, according to Fangraphs. His OPS this season is .716, the third-highest of his nine-year career.
He is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
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His OPS against right-handed pitchers this season is .738, fourth-best among qualified Rangers hitters behind Corey Seager, Josh Smith and Nathaniel Lowe. The Rangers have the second-lowest OPS in the majors against right-handed pitchers since early June, and were thwarted by Toronto right-hander Kevin Gausman on Saturday and Jose Berrios on Sunday.
According to Baseball Savant, Kelly ranks sixth in the league in blocks above average as a catcher, six times above average, and is in the 89th percentile in stolen bases prevented above average. His plus-4 defensive rating is better than both Texas’ Jonah Heim (minus-1) and Andrew Knizner (zero) this season.
He could provide more offensive power at the position than Andrew Knizner (.167 batting average in 37 games this season) and would give the Rangers the opportunity to rest Jonah Heim or use him as a designated hitter if needed. Heim has played the fourth-most games (81) among catchers in the AL this season and has seen his offensive power drop from last year (.755 OPS) to this year (.620 OPS).
Neither Hicks nor Owens are listed as the Rangers’ top prospects. Hicks, 25, is a ninth-round pick who batted .260 with four homers this season for Double-A Frisco. Owens, 23, was acquired by the Rangers this offseason in a trade with the Atlanta Braves for outfielder J.P. Martinez. He had a 2.80 ERA in 26 games in Frisco’s relief corps this season.
The trade deadline is Tuesday at 5pm CST.
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