Cubs' Carson Kelly hopes mechanical change leads to more consistency at the plate

CLEVELAND — Including team success, last season was the best of Cubs catcher Carson Kelly’s career.

He posted a career-high 3.6 WAR and reached the playoffs for the first time in his career. But the 11-year veteran went into the offseason searching, feeling he had left some production on the table.

‘‘We’re always looking for consistency, right?’’ Kelly told the Sun-Times. ‘‘From a hitting standpoint, it’s getting into the same position every time. And over the course of the year, my hands were getting into different spots, which created a late move and, overall, a snowball effect.’’

Kelly limped to the finish line, batting .218 with a .596 OPS after the All-Star break. His luck didn’t turn in his first playoff run, either. He batted .179/.233/.286 in the postseason.

Kelly’s hand placement played a role in his numbers taking a nosedive last season. He said that he could have corrected his mechanics earlier but that ‘‘when we do something so repetitively, you think you’re in the same spot.’’

His hands were getting tucked behind his body, which threw off his timing and led to him being late on pitches.

‘‘Then you look on camera, and you’re like, ‘That’s completely different,’ ’’ Kelly said. ‘‘We have the technology to know our location in space and from different angles.’’

All in all, however, 2025 was a bounce-back season for Kelly. He slugged 17 home runs and slashed .249/.333/.428. His .761 OPS was his best since posting an .826 in 2019 with the Diamondbacks.

But the rigors of the major-league season eventually caught up with him. Catching takes a toll on a player’s body throughout a season. And with Miguel Amaya appearing in only 28 games last season because of injuries, that only added to Kelly’s load.

Kelly takes pride in taking the field as often as he can, but he also understands the importance of recuperation and days off and knows the Cubs are a better team when Amaya is healthy.

‘‘Having Miggy back is phenomenal for us,’’ Kelly said. ‘‘It was tough to see him go down [last season]. But he had a good offseason and came in ready to go, [as] you see from the early production, and I think that’s something that’s going to help this team.’’

Though he feels fine physically, Kelly is off to a so-so start this season, batting .250 with a .598 OPS. His underlying metrics, however, are eye-popping. His hard-hit rate is in the 98th percentile, and his average exit velocity is in the 93rd percentile. His expected batting average is .303.

Expected numbers are a good indicator that Kelly is doing the right things at the plate; now those hard-hit balls have to start turning into hits. The Cubs’ lineup is formidable enough without Kelly, but his added production would be a tremendous boost.

It took 10 years for Kelly to make the playoffs. The celebratory champagne showers at Wrigley Field still are etched in his mind, and he wants to experience that feeling again. His play — at the plate and behind it — will have a significant effect on the Cubs’ playoff chances.

‘‘The playoffs are really a special thing, and we have aspirations to go back and do it again,’’ he said.