There’s a lot on the plate of Detroit Tigers catcher Carson Kelly.
The 29-year-old, after signing with the Tigers on Aug. 19, has been asked to learn a brand-new pitching staff. He is trying to make adjustments to his swing mechanics as a batter and his receiving mechanics as a catcher, all while competing in games without overthinking.
Another thing: Kelly is auditioning for a role beyond the 2023 season.
“Number one, my job as a catcher is to catch the baseball for the pitching staff and hold that down,” Kelly said. “Offense is always good, but we’re really prioritizing catching, and then let the offense play.”
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Before Saturday’s game, Kelly participated in live batting practice against right-hander Casey Mize. He received two plate appearances, and in the second matchup, he ripped a single up the middle and into center field.
It was his first unofficial hit with the Tigers.
“I like that,” Kelly said. “We should put that on the board.”
A few hours later, Kelly collected his first official hit with the Tigers. In the fifth inning, he drilled a first-pitch 92.8 mph four-seam fastball from Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown for a single up the middle and into center field.
The single, hit with a 100.3 mph exit velocity, advanced Zach McKinstry to third base, which led to the Tigers’ final run in Saturday’s 9-2 loss. Kelly, who has 282 hits in parts of eight MLB seasons, is hitting .125 (1-for-8) with zero walks and four strikeouts in three games — but only two starts — since signing with the Tigers.
His playing time is about to increase.
“When he’s competing, we want him to just play,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I need to play him a little more often and get him into game mode. He’s kind of been in download mode where he’s getting a lot of stuff thrown at him, and then he waits four or five days to play. He’s about to get in a more regular routine of catching.”
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Moving forward, Kelly is expected to catch roughly every third day while starting catcher Jake Rogers maintains the bulk of the workload. So far, Kelly has started just two of eight games, including his non-start in Sunday’s series finale against the Astros, in his brief tenure with the Tigers.
He needs to get more reps — behind the plate and in the batter’s box — because the Tigers need to figure out if the newcomer is a part of the plan for the 2024 season. That’s why the Tigers included a club option in the one-year contract.
If the Tigers pick up the club option, Kelly will earn $3.5 million plus incentives for the 2024 campaign.
“I think he’s handling the situation the best he can,” Hinch said. “It is a really tough position for the crash course. But it’s our reality. He’s trying to make an impression, and we’re trying to get to know him. We don’t want any of our guys to go out unprepared, so we have to do that. … It’s a tall task. It’s why you don’t see a ton of catchers traded at the deadline.”
Starters vs. Yankees
The Tigers have two starters locked in for the upcoming four-game series against the New York Yankees at Comerica Park. Right-hander Reese Olson will start Monday, and left-hander Tarik Skubal will start Tuesday.
After that, the Tigers still need to finalize their starters for Wednesday and Thursday. Right-hander Matt Manning is lined up to start Wednesday, but he suffered a lower back injury in his last start and might not be ready.
“We’re just waiting,” Hinch said. “We don’t really need to worry about Wednesday until at the very earliest (Monday) when Matty would throw (his bullpen). All signs are still positive, but we might want to push guys back. We could do a bullpen game. We could do a variety of things.”
Hinch reached out to Yankees manager Aaron Boone and explained the situation.
“I texted Booney about it,” Hinch said. “Full transparency, we’re not sure how the back end of the series is going to go yet.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.