Detroit Tigers pick up catcher Carson Kelly's $3.5 million club option for 2024 season
The Detroit Tigers picked up the $3.5 million club option in the contract of catcher Carson Kelly for the 2024 season.
Kelly joined the Tigers in August 2023, when he signed for the remainder of the season with a club option for 2024. The Arizona Diamondbacks released Kelly, an eight-year MLB veteran, just four days before the Tigers signed him.
The 29-year-old projects as the backup catcher on the 2024 Opening Day roster.
WELCOME TO DETROIT: Mark Canha reinvented his approach years ago. Now, Tigers think he can help young players
HITTING THE MARKET: Tigers and MLB free agency: Scouting the 2023-24 market
Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez opted out of the final three years (and $49 million) in his five-year contract on Saturday, while shortstop Javier Báez is expected to opt in to the final four years (and $98 million) in his six-year contract.
Both Rodriguez and Báez had player options, so the Tigers weren't able to make decisions about their immediate futures. Kelly, however, entered the offseason with a club option, so the Tigers got to decide whether or not to keep him around.
"It's very much an open decision or open question for us," Scott Harris, the Tigers' president of baseball operations, said Oct. 2, when asked about Kelly's club option. "Whatever we end up with as a catching unit, a huge priority for us is going to be how they manage the staff, how they call games and how they make adjustments to what hitters are trying to do."
Had the Tigers declined the option, Kelly would have become an unsigned arbitration-eligible player. Retaining him as an arbitration-eligible player would have required a raise from the $4.275 million salary he received from the Diamondbacks in 2023, so he would have been non-tendered and forced into free agency.
Instead, the Tigers picked up the $3.5 million option.
[ MUST LISTEN: Make"Days of Roar" your go-to Detroit Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts Apple, Spotify) ]
TOP CATCHER: How Tigers' Jake Rogers became 'what everybody is looking for' at catcher position
Kelly played 50 games for the Diamondbacks and Tigers in 2023, hitting .206 with two home runs, 14 walks and 40 strikeouts. He had stints on the injured list in three consecutive seasons, including a fractured bone in his right forearm in March 2023.
His power declined due to injuries over the past three seasons, but the Tigers believe he can unlock his previous ability to drive the ball with changes to his swing mechanics.
With the Tigers, Kelly hit .173 with seven walks and 17 strikeouts in 18 games. He showed above-average defense, followed game plans based on the scouting report and helped starting pitchers make in-game adjustments.
For now, the Tigers' catching depth features Jake Rogers as the No. 1 catcher, Kelly as the No. 2 catcher and prospect Dillon Dingler as the catcher-in-waiting while developing in Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers also have Donny Sands, acquired last offseason in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, in Toledo.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers pick up catcher Carson Kelly's $3.5M option for 2024
