Carson Kelly Eyes Repeat Performance After Career-Best 2025 Season

Catcher Carson Kelly, 31, is coming off a career-best 2025 season with the Cubs, posting 3.6 bWAR, a .249/.333/.428 slash line, 17 HR, and 50 RBI in 421 PAs, including hitting for the cycle in March. He also excelled defensively with 777 putouts (5th NL) and a 34.3% CS rate (2nd NL). While his workload is expected to diminish to 40% in 2026, analysts believe his improvements are repeatable. Kelly has a $7.5M mutual option for 2027, with a projected 10 HR, 35 RBI, .240 BA for 2026.