CHICAGO – The Cubs headed into this offseason wanting to find a partner for Miguel Amaya to create a solid catching tandem. Carson Kelly is joining Chicago to offer an experienced piece to that part of the roster puzzle -- and he was a boyhood Cubs fan to boot.

Born in Chicago and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Kelly signed a two-year free agent deal to join Amaya as the Cubs’ top catching options, giving manager Craig Counsell flexibility to distribute the playing time more evenly, as opposed to a traditional starter-backup setup.

“The biggest thing was right early on in free agency, they reached out and showed that they were interested, and I was interested as well,” Kelly said. “I’ve been a Cubs fan since I was a kid. My family is from Chicago, so immediately that interested me. I’m just glad it worked out.”

Kelly moved West when he was very young, but both of his parents grew up in Chicago and an uncle still lives there. Before he was drafted by St. Louis in the second-round of the 2012 Draft and began a pro career with Major League stops with the Cardinals, D-backs, Tigers and Rangers, Kelly spent plenty of summer days at Wrigley Field.

“I remember that we would sit in the bleachers,” Kelly said. “You’d wait in line and go up and you’re out there in batting practice trying to catch a ball. I have some pictures of me [as] one of those 10-year-old kids trying to catch a ball.

“It’s special. Wrigley has been there such a long time, and the history, it’s really special. Being there as a visitor is really cool, but I think it will bring up a lot of emotions and a lot of excitement when I put on the home jersey for the first time.”

But this deal wasn’t just sentimental. For the Cubs, landing a player like Kelly fits the conceptual goal for the club as they tackled the catching situation this winter.

“Look, Miguel showed at times last year, he deserves and he should be the guy,” Counsell said at the Winter Meetings. “And other times he's shown us he needs a break. And so I think Miguel is going to still have the opportunity to be a guy that is a regular contributor.

“But it's also important for us to have a backup plan. And I think we're going to make sure we have a really good plan for that.”

Kelly’s pact with the Cubs is worth $11.5 million guaranteed, according to a source. The catcher is set to earn $5 million in each of the ‘25 and ‘26 seasons, and has a $7.5 million mutual option (or $1.5 million buyout) for ‘27.

After a handful of other free-agent catching options came off the board -- Travis d’Arnaud (Angels), Kyle Higashioka (Rangers) and Danny Jansen (Rays), among them -- Kelly looked like the logical target for the North Siders.

In the name of depth, the Cubs also swung a deal in November to acquire out-of-options catcher Matt Thaiss from the Angels. But with Kelly in the fold, Thaiss moved down the depth chart, so the Cubs dealt him to the White Sox on Tuesday for cash.

The Cubs also have a bat-first catching prospect in Moises Ballesteros (Pipeline’s No. 4 Cubs prospect and No. 44 on the Top 100 list), but he is still only 21 years old and profiles more as a designated hitter and part-time catcher. While Ballesteros could push for an MLB debut in 2025, he is not part of the immediate plans.

Amaya, who will turn 26 in March, enjoyed a strong offensive finish (.760 OPS in the second half) to his season, but still has room to grow as an everyday catcher. He also hit .163 (.463 OPS) against left-handed pitching, so finding a catcher to help balance the workload and production made sense for the Cubs.

Kelly hit .302 (.807 OPS) in a limited sample (49 plate appearances) against lefty pitching last season, while batting .227 (.665 OPS) against right-handers. Overall, the 30-year-old catcher hit .238/.313/.374 with nine homers and 37 RBIs in 91 games between stints with the Tigers and Rangers last season.

Defensively, Kelly turned in above-average numbers across the board last season. Per Statcast, he posted a fielding run value of four overall, with one framing run, two caught-stealing runs and one blocking run to his credit. Kelly threw out would-be base-stealers at a 26.3% clip last season -- a factor cited Tuesday by Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer as he plans to compete against the uber-aggressive Brewers, Reds and other teams in the NL Central.

“The biggest thing, though, that I really believe in is I’ve got to get the trust of those guys on the mound,” Kelly said. “I have to know how they tick, how they operate, if there’s a guy I really need to push or I need to pat on the back. A lot of it is you’re playing psychology. It’s almost getting to a point where you know them better than they know themselves.”

Kelly has appeared in parts of nine seasons in his career, hitting .224 (.680 OPS) overall. His best offensive season came in 2019, when the catcher belted 18 homers and put up an .826 OPS in 111 games with Arizona.

“He really wanted to be here,” Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said. “He's a really good defender. He can control the running game really, really well. He's got a great approach at the plate. … It was something that our group felt really strongly could pair well with Miguel and we're excited to get him on board.”