Detroit Tigers Trade Their Veteran Catcher to Texas Rangers
The Detroit Tigers are on the board, as they've traded Carson Kelly to the Texas Rangers, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The return has yet to be announced at the time of writing.
In his second season with the Tigers, Kelly has been a serviceable professional, slashing .240/.325/.391 with seven home runs across 179 at-bats this year. With Jake Rogers on the roster, Detroit could afford to move Kelly.
This isn't an indication of much for the Tigers, as it's still uncertain who else they'll move as of now. In a sellers' market, they have been given an opportunity to move some of their veterans, like Kelly, in deals to get future assets in return.
With an above-average farm system and some young talent already on the big league roster, Detroit could be in the mix to improve that even more in the coming days.
Kelly was the first one to be moved, but he likely won't be the last.
He now has an opportunity to play for a Rangers team that won the World Series a year ago, an exciting opportunity for the veteran.
Texas is nearly in the same spot as the Tigers are in the Wild Card standings, as Detroit is actually a half-game ahead of them. However, the Rangers have win-now talent on their roster, so their decision to buy shouldn't come as a surprise.
It'll be interesting to see how much he plays as Jonah Heim is their starting catcher, but Kelly should see some action and bring another veteran presence to their roster.
JON CONAHAN