A nine-year Major League veteran, Kelly has batted .240 in 60 games for the Tigers this season
St. Louis, Mo. — The Texas Rangers tonight announced that the club has acquired catcher Carson Kelly from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for catcher Liam Hicks and right-handed pitcher Tyler Owens.
Kelly, 30, has slashed .240/.325/.391/.716 (43-179) with seven home runs, one triple, four doubles, and 29 RBI in 60 games for the Tigers this season. He has made 52 starts at catcher for Detroit in 2024, throwing out 17 of 59 attempted base-stealers for a 38.8% caught stealing percentage, which ranked 4th in the American League and 7th in MLB (min. 20 attempts) entering play Sunday. A right-handed batter and thrower, Kelly is batting .250 (8-32) against left-handed pitchers and .238 (35-147) versus righties this season.
The Chicago, Ill. native was originally selected by St. Louis in the 2nd round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of Westview (Portland, Or.) High School and has batted .224 (333-1489) with 52 home runs, two triples, 66 doubles, and 199 RBI over parts of nine Major League seasons with St. Louis (2016-18), Arizona (2019-23), and Detroit (2023-24). Since 2019, the backstop’s 10.1% walk rate ranks 8th among qualified MLB catchers, while his 3404.0 innings caught behind the plate are 12th most in all of baseball in that span.
The 23-year-old Owens has gone 2-0 with 8 saves and a 2.80 ERA (11 ER/35.1 IP) in 26 relief appearances for Double-A Frisco this season in his first year with the Texas organization. He was acquired from Atlanta in a January 26, 2024 trade that sent outfielder J.P. Martinez to the Braves.
Hicks, 25, has batted .260/.364/.353/.717 (76-292) with 4 home runs and 33 RBI over 80 games with Frisco (AA) in 2024. He has spent his entire career in the Texas organization since being selected in the 9th round of the 2021 MLB Draft.
Following today’s transactions, the Rangers are at the 40-man limit on the club’s Major League roster, along with seven players on the 60-day Injured List: Cody Bradford, Carson Coleman, Jacob deGrom, Josh Jung, Tyler Mahle, Austin Pruitt, Cole Winn.
