Story by
Veteran Cubs Catcher Could be Intriguing Fit for Yankees in MLB Free Agency
- Story by
- Veteran Cubs Catcher Could be Intriguing Fit for Yankees in MLB Free Agency
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The New York Yankees enter this offseason with a few needs on both sides of the baseball, though I think it's fair to mention that adding on the offensive side of things behind the plate should be viewed as a priority.
Among the many options the Yankees have to consider, a guy like Chicago Cubs free agent Carson Kelly could be at the top of that list.
Advertisement
Kelly is a somewhat difficult player to evaluate in the simple sense of what he is at the moment.
He has an 11-year big league career under his belt and is 32 years old already. However, there's also reason to believe that he can be a guy who comes in and serves a purpose for the Yankees, specifically as a right-handed hitting catcher who can swing it at a high level against left-handers.
Throughout last season, that was a major concern for the Yankees behind the dish. Youngster Austin Wells wasn't great against left-handed pitching, and with few other options behind him, the Yankees often found themselves in a strange position when a left-hander was on the mound.
Now, allowing a guy like Kelly to come in, Wells could just hit against right-handed pitching, and that could solve a lot of these problems.
Advertisement
"Arguably the biggest factor behind Wells' offensive struggles was his inability to hit left-handed pitching. In 99 plate appearances, Wells hit a woeful .122/.192/.244 against southpaws. Against righties, his .209/.326/.365 slash line in 289 plate appearances is closer to league-average production…
"And when a lefty is on the mound, there aren't too many catchers more dangerous than Kelly. In 2026, he hit .298/.375/.496 over 136 plate appearances against southpaws, as opposed to a .239/.318/.320 slash line in 289 plate appearances versus righties. In his 11-year career, Kelly is a .267/.353/.469 hitter against lefties, which is well-above average production," Joe Najarian wrote .
While Wells didn't necessarily have a ton of at-bats against left-handers, considering he only had 99 plate appearances, and I'm not willing to judge a guy based on fewer than 100 plate appearances in a year against left-handed pitching, those numbers are very telling.
What's also telling is that Kelly was one of the best in baseball behind the dish at hitting left-handed pitching at a high level.
Advertisement
The question for the Yankees is whether they can get him at a relatively low price and if he's willing to not be a full-time starter.
I suspect that he'll want to be a full-time starter, but the Yankees also offer him some other things that teams around baseball don't.
