The Diamondbacks have released Carson Kelly, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. That was the expected outcome after Arizona designated him for assignment on Sunday. Kelly has over five years of major league service, so he could’ve refused a minor league assignment while retaining his salary in any event.
Kelly’s tenure with the D-Backs officially comes to a close. Acquired alongside Luke Weaver and Andrew Young in the lopsided Paul Goldschmidt trade, Kelly played parts of five seasons in the desert. He started reasonably well, hitting 18 home runs during the 2019 campaign and rebounding from a down shortened season with a strong .260/.385/.460 start through the first couple months in ’21.
An errant pitch fractured Kelly’s right wrist that June. He never seemed to fully recover, hitting .221/.297/.364 across 172 plate appearances down the stretch. He followed up with a middling .211/.282/.334 showing in 354 trips to the dish last season. The Diamondbacks nevertheless tendered him an arbitration contract but acquired Gabriel Moreno to take over as the primary backstop last winter.
Kelly’s efforts to solidify himself as the #2 option were again derailed by a hit-by-pitch. He broke his right arm in Spring Training and was out of action into the second week of June. Kelly appeared in 33 games over the last couple months but continued to scuffle, hitting .226/.283/.298 in 92 trips to the plate.
Arizona has elected to go with José Herrera as Moreno’s backup. Assuming Kelly clears release waivers, the Snakes will remain on the hook for the approximate $942K remaining on his $4.275MM salary. At that point, another team could add him for the prorated portion of the $720K league minimum through season’s end. If Kelly catches on elsewhere this season, he’d technically be eligible for arbitration for 2024, though he’d be a non-tender candidate in all likelihood.
Wasn’t he the “big prize” of the Goldy deal?
Cards win a trade? Retribution for D-backs getting Gallen by way of MIA.
It was a good deal for the Cardinals only because they were able to extend Goldy.
Yeah Cardinals only got 1 year of Goldschmidt it was a good trade but not as good as people think it was.
Looks like a KBO candidate for 2024
I say a candidate for the White Sox. A younger veteran to replace Grandal.
He’s from Chicago and the White Sox do need a catcher.
Well I think they should try him for a backup mentor role honestly. See what some of these new guys can do.
One of them along with the pitcher. Is He really that bad that they could not trade him.? He was ok for several season’s and is not that old!
He’s had 2 seasons out of 8 where he’s hit ok. One of those seasons was the juiced ball year of 2019. Hasn’t really been ok for several seasons, he has a cumulative 3.5 WAR for his entire career. Considering no team claimed him off waivers, don’t see any of them offering anything of value to aquire him if they won’t claim him for nothing.
Catchers WAR is notoriously low. He’s a decent player. He should have a job as a backup for league minimum next year easy.
RELEASE TOREY!!!
Was the the strong start just the like the pirates ? Smoke and mirrors. ? A little surprised at the collapse here. Not surprised by pirates collapse. Snakes a bit of a head scratcher.
if their pitching gains some experience and actually develops the next 2 seasons, they could be really dangerous. their hitters seem to be coming around and they strive for a good defensive unit
Smoke and mirrors.
Man, that trade…just Wow…I’d forgotten how bad that deal was
To be accurate, this snakes traded 1 year (2019 season) of Goldy for multiple years of various misfit toys. Ken Kendrick wasn’t willing to re-sign the face of the franchise, thus the giveaway.
While Kelly and Weaver could not sustain their good starts with the D-Backs, Christian Walker developed into a fine replacement at first base.
He would be an improvement over Barnes in LA. Veteran backup with lots of divisional experience
Barnes is on the roster until Kershaw leaves.
If memory serves, the Dbacks still have Emmanuel Rivera and Dominic Fletcher to show for the Goldschmidt trade. Rivera came to Arizona from KC in the Luke Weaver trade and, I believe, Fletcher was a comp pick.
Supposedly a solid defensive catcher who can pop 15 or so homers each year. Some team will sign him.. Right now, he could probably start for Miami, and he would be an upgrade in a back-up role for the Reds, Rox and the Nats.
Is he that bad?