BREAKING: Detroit Tigers Confirms Departure For Another Key Star
Texas Rangers catchers Jonah Heim and Andrew Knizner have combined for 10 homers, 10 doubles, and 51 RBI in 2024. It looks like the Rangers are positioning themselves as buyers.
The club has acquired catcher Carson Kelly in a trade with the Detroit Tigers for minor league catcher Liam Hicks and right-handed pitcher Tyler Owens.
Kelly, 30, is batting .240 with seven home runs, four doubles, a triple, and 29 RBI in 60 games for Detroit in 2024. In 52 starts, he’s thrown out 17 of 59 baserunners, ranking fourth in the American League. The right-handed hitter is batting .250 against left-handed pitchers and .238 against right-handers.
With the MLB trade deadline at 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Rangers are making moves. They were swept by the last-place Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend and start a three-game series in St. Louis on Monday. The Rangers trail the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners by 4.5 games in the American League West.
Kelly was a second-round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012 out of Westview High School in Portland, Oregon. He made his MLB debut in 2016 and has batted .224 with 52 home runs, two triples, 66 doubles, and 199 RBI over parts of nine seasons with the Cardinals (2016-18), Arizona Diamondbacks (2019-23), and Tigers (2023-24). Since 2019, Kelly’s 10.1% walk rate ranks 8th among qualified MLB catchers.
Owens, a 23-year-old right-hander for Double-A Frisco, was acquired by the Rangers in January from the Atlanta Braves for outfielder J.P. Martínez. Owens is 2-0 with eight saves and a 2.80 ERA in 26 relief appearances for the Riders.
Hicks, 25, is slashing .260/.364/.353/.717 with four homers and 33 RBI in 80 games with Frisco. He was a ninth-round selection by the Rangers in the 2021 MLB Draft.
Jonah Heim, an All-Star and Gold Glover in 2023, is batting .231 with nine homers, nine doubles, and 42 RBI in 91 games in 2024. His backup, Andrew Knizner, is batting .137 with a homer, a double, and nine RBI in 37 games.
Sam Huff is batting .249 with nine homers, 21 doubles, and 51 RBI in 71 games for Triple-A Round Rock this season.