Cubs Acquire Left-Handed Pitcher From Dodgers
Kelly, 26, reports to Triple-A Iowa without having thrown a single big league inning in his career.
The move is the Cubs' latest attempt to plug a bullpen that has been cycling through arms all season due to injuries.
The Profile
Kelly was a second-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019, the 65th overall selection out of Wabash Valley College, and was traded to the Rangers in the Matt Bush deal at the 2022 trade deadline after being named to the Futures Game less than a month earlier.
He has since pitched in the Rockies, Rangers, Brewers, and now Dodgers organizations before landing in Chicago.
Across 303.1 career minor league innings, he has struck out 391 batters, a rate that consistently generates interest from teams willing to overlook his command.
The command is the problem.
The Dodgers traded LHP Antoine Kelly to the Cubs.
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) June 6, 2026
Kelly joined the team on a minor league deal this offseason and had a 5.14 ERA across 21 innings at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
He's a former second-round pick of the Brewers. pic.twitter.com/yKNWKtORgg
He has walked 200 batters in that same sample, and his 2026 Triple-A numbers with Oklahoma City show both ends of that split: a 5.14 ERA with a 18.1 percent walk rate alongside impressive swing-and-miss metrics.
He threw 9.2 scoreless spring training innings with a 34.2 percent strikeout rate, numbers that earned him a non-roster invite with the Dodgers and then a season at Triple-A without a promotion.
Jed Hoyer has stressed the Cubs are not yet focused on the trade deadline, but the organization has been relentless in finding smaller-transaction pitching depth as their injury situation has remained one of the most difficult in baseball.
Kelly is the latest low-cost swing.
Photo Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
