The Los Angeles Dodgers finalized their trade to send Antoine Kelly to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for cash considerations. The Minor League trade was first reported on Saturday amid a string of roster moves by the Dodgers.
Though, trading Kelly did not have any bearing on the Dodgers adding Nick Frasso to their 40-man roster and transferring Tyler Glasnow to the 60-day injured list.
Antoine Kelly traded to Cubs
Kelly’s time with the Dodgers organization comes to an end after signing a Minor League contract this past offseason. His deal included a non-roster invitation to big league camp for Spring Training.
The left-hander wound up appearing in nine Cactus League games and also pitched in the finale of the exhibition Freeway Series. Kelly threw 9.2 scoreless innings and collected 13 strikeouts in his 10 appearances during the spring.
He had spent the entire 2026 Minor League season with Triple-A Oklahoma City before getting traded. He went 0-3 with a 5.14 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in 26 games for the Comets.
Kelly was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers with the No. 65 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. The 26-year-old has yet to make his MLB debut.
Kelly has shown a propensity to rack up strikeouts but it’s been offset by inconsistent control. With Oklahoma City he boasted a 21% strikeout rate but it was accompanied by an 18.1% walk rate.
Over six Minor League seasons, he’s gone 10-16 with 15 saves, a 4.78 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 200 walks and 391 strikeouts in 303.1 innings pitched over 179 games (42 starts). All of Kelly’s starts came during the 2019-22 seasons.
The 26-year-old Kelly has put together some intriguing minor league seasons, but has yet to earn a crack in the big leagues. He possesses big-time strikeout potential and shaky control. Kelly scuffled to a 5.63 ERA in 34 games with Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate last season.
Given the state of the Cubs’ injury-plagued bullpen, it’s plausible Kelly gets an opportunity at the big league level this year.
Dodgers and Cubs trade
The Dodgers and Cubs have completed three trades since January 2024. That deal saw Yency Almonte and Michael Busch sent to Chicago in exchange for prospects Jackson Ferris and Zyhir Hope.
Then in February 2025, the Dodgers traded Ryan Brasier and cash to the Cubs for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
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