Cubs Receive Good News on Catcher's Wrist Injury

Kelly landed on the injured list in 2021 after sustaining a fractured wrist, and it appears that he will not miss much time, if any.

Here’s what Kelly had to say on his injury:

The 30-year-old has enjoyed a breakout campaign in his tenth year as a Big Leaguer and is one of the brightest spots in this lineup. Despite splitting time with Miguel Amaya, Kelly has earned every day playing rights.

Through nine games and 37 plate appearances, Kelly has a .417 batting average, a 1.636 OPS, and a 367 OPS+ with an absurd 11 walks to three strikeouts. He also has four home runs and 13 RBIs, both of which are on track to break his career highs of 18 homers and 47 RBIs.

Kelly is also arguably a better defensive catcher than his counterpart Amaya, and should he sustain even two-thirds of this production, he should see more time behind the plate.

Amaya is no slouch, though, and has a .263 batting average, a .722 OPS, and a 107 OPS+ through 38 plate appearances. It is still too early in the season to overweigh this sample size, but the results are all in favor of Kelly.

Hopefully for Kelly and the Cubs’ sake, he does not miss much time. Plus, if there is a silver lining to getting hit by a pitch, at least it was not on his throwing arm.