The Guardians added another left-handed arm to the mix Monday, signing Antoine Kelly to a minor league contract and bringing him into major league spring training.
Kelly, a Bledsoe Agency client, reached the majors with the Cubs this past season. His first big league look was tiny - just 1 1/3 innings - but he did keep the Yankees off the board in that outing. The 26-year-old, who turns 27 in December, then spent the rest of the 2026 season working in Triple-A for the Cubs and Dodgers.
Across those Triple-A stops, Kelly logged 50 2/3 innings with a 4.62 ERA, a 23.7% strikeout rate and a 16.7% walk rate. That command issue has been the story for much of his pro career. In parts of four seasons at the Triple-A level, he owns a 5.82 ERA over 120 2/3 innings, with a 23.5% strikeout rate and a 16.6% walk rate.
The raw stuff is still what keeps Kelly interesting. He was a second-round pick, taken No. 65 overall by the Brewers in 2019, and has long been viewed as a pitcher whose fastball-slider combination could play at a high level if the control ever gets close to average. Instead, he’s already been through five organizations - Milwaukee, Texas, Colorado, Los Angeles and Chicago - and Cleveland will be the sixth.
The Guardians have had success helping talented but imperfect pitchers find another gear, and Kelly now gets a shot to see whether that can happen here. He also has a minor league option left, which means if Cleveland adds him to the 40-man roster, he can still be moved between Cleveland and Columbus for one more season before he’d have to stay in the majors.
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For the Cubs, that matters because one of the biggest pitching names on the market may be slipping out of reach. Tarik Skubal had been viewed as a potential dream target, but reports now indicate Chicago is not expected to be among the major bidders, a notable shift for a team that could have used a front-line arm if the market opened the way many expected. With the offseason already looking volatile, the Cubs may have to watch a premium opportunity move elsewhere before the real bidding even fully begins. [Read more 🡒]
Ben Brown Uncertainty Just Raised The Stakes For Cubs Free Agency
The Cubs already had a rotation puzzle on their hands entering the offseason, with multiple free agents to sort through and injury concerns lingering around the staff. Ben Brown only adds to the uncertainty. The right-hander has not resumed throwing after a recurring neck injury, and the possibility of surgery has put another layer of doubt over how Chicago approaches its pitching plans.
For a team trying to rebuild the rotation, Browns status matters because it changes the level of risk the front office has to manage. Chicago cannot afford to treat the staff as a finished project, and the latest update only reinforces the need for aggressive moves as the Cubs weigh how much help they need and how quickly they need it. [Read more 🡒]