Cubs acquire – The Chicago Cubs added left-hander Antoine Kelly from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, hoping the hard-throwing arm can help fill a bullpen need while the organization works through injuries. Kelly, 26, has dominated Triple-A Oklahoma City with strikeout p
Chicago’s bullpen has been dealing with injuries, and on Saturday the Cubs moved to add another option—taking a left-handed reliever from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Cubs acquired Antoine Kelly from the Dodgers, bringing in a pitcher the organization believes can add strikeout punch as it searches for stability in a major-league relief group that currently owns a 3.69 ERA but a 4.51 expected ERA.
General strategy hasn’t changed. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has stressed that the team’s focus is not yet on the trade deadline, even as the organization stayed active in looking for additional pitching through smaller transactions. Kelly is the latest piece of that approach.
Kelly, 26, joined Los Angeles on a minor league contract in November and spent the 2026 season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. He hasn’t made it to the major leagues yet. but he’s been viewed for a long time as a pitcher with significant strikeout ability. This season, he continued to miss bats at a strong rate, recording more than a strikeout per inning.
The downside has been control. At Oklahoma City, Kelly carried an 18.1% walk rate alongside a 5.16 expected ERA and a 6.38 expected FIP.
That blend—explosive swing-and-miss stuff paired with command concerns—is exactly why the Cubs are taking a chance now that they need bullpen depth. With injuries still affecting the organization’s pitching staff. Kelly could end up emerging as a depth option for the major league roster in the coming weeks.
Kelly’s path to this moment began with the Milwaukee Brewers. He originally entered professional baseball as a second-round pick of the Brewers in the 2019 MLB Draft. During Craig Counsell’s time with Milwaukee. Kelly developed in the Brewers’ farm system before being traded to the Texas Rangers at the 2022 trade deadline in a deal that also included Matt Bush and Mark Mathias.
Since then, Kelly has spent time with the Rangers, Colorado Rockies, and Dodgers organizations. Last season, he appeared in 34 games for Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate, finishing with a 5.63 ERA.
Earlier this year, Kelly impressed during Dodgers Spring Training. He threw 9.2 scoreless innings while producing a 34.2% strikeout rate. Even with that early promise, he remained in Triple-A and did not receive a major league opportunity with Los Angeles.
Now the Cubs are giving him a new setting to see what his raw swing-and-miss ability can look like when a bullpen needs another high-upside arm. The question for Chicago is whether Kelly’s missing-bats profile can be paired with improved command quickly enough to matter while injuries continue to shape the roster’s needs.
Chicago Cubs Antoine Kelly Los Angeles Dodgers trade bullpen depth left-handed reliever Jed Hoyer Triple-A Oklahoma City 18.1% walk rate 5.16 expected ERA
So they got a lefty but his control is bad? cool.
I don’t get it, 3.69 ERA but 4.51 expected ERA?? That sounds like excuses. If he walks dudes a lot then how is this helping injuries, you know?
Wait I thought he was already on the Cubs or like an MLB guy. Left-hander reliever from the Dodgers feels like a headline trick. Also “more than a strikeout per inning” is what my cousin said fantasy-wise, but 18% walks??? That’s gonna be a mess.
Trade deadline not on their mind but they’re “staying active” and getting bullpen depth anyway, lol. I just hope this means fewer blown leads. The article keeps saying strikeout punch but then control concerns like… so is he good or not?