Former Brewers' 2nd-round pick traded from Dodgers to NL Central rival Cubs

The combination of a string of pitching injuries and their offseason additions not performing as the organization hoped they would has left the Chicago Cubs' pitching staff in a dire situation.

In regard to the starting rotation, Chicago currently has three names who were expected to be important pieces of their pitching group residing on the injured list. Cade Horton, last year's NL Rookie of the Year runner-up, is out for the rest of the year after undergoing season-ending elbow surgery back in April. Justin Steele's timeline continues to be delayed as he works back from his elbow surgery that he underwent in April of 2025. Left-hander Matthew Boyd, who was the Cubs' best arm a season ago, is nearing a return after undergoing meniscus surgery in early May, but struggled through his first five starts of the campaign. Pair that with the fact that right-hander Jameson Taillon went down with a hamstring strain in last night's series finale against the San Francisco Giants, and things look rather bleak for the Cubs' starting staff.

However, the bullpen outlook might be even more depressing for the North Siders. 2024 breakout right-hander Porter Hodge is out for the year after undergoing an internal brace procedure in late March. Rookie southpaw Riley Martin has been on the shelf since late April and isn't expected to return until July. Meanwhile, offseason free agent signee Hunter Harvey experienced a setback in his rehab process last month and now has an uncertain return timeline.

In addition to the injuries, underperformance from arms like Edward Cabrera, Phil Maton, and Shota Imanaga has left the Cubs with one of the more disappointing pitching staffs through the first two months of the 2026 campaign. As a result, Chicago's front office has been forced to get creative over the last few weeks when it comes to adding pitchers to their organization.

The Cubs have claimed arms like Luis Peralta, brother of Freddy Peralta, and Christian Roa off waivers, and signed players like Ty Blach, who they previously designated for assignment, and Aaron Bummer to minor league deals. Over the weekend, they added another arm to their organization via a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers -- one who Milwaukee Brewers fans should be familiar with.

Brewers' 2019 second-round pick, left-hander Antoine Kelly, lands with Cubs four years after Milwaukee traded him away

Yesterday afternoon, it was confirmed that the Dodgers have traded minor league left-handed pitcher Antoine Kelly to the Cubs for cash considerations. Kelly was drafted by the Brewers in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft and spent the next three years in Milwaukee's farm system. While Kelly posted inconsistent results in Milwaukee's minor league system, he flashed potential that made it clear why the Brewers selected him on Day 1 of the 2019 draft.

However, at the 2022 midseason trade deadline, the Brewers traded Kelly and infielder Mark Mathias to the Texas Rangers for reliever Matt Bush -- a deal Milwaukee would like to forget. That said, while Mathias did post a strong second half with the Rangers before his production fell off the following season, Kelly also saw a similar dip in production after a strong introduction in the Rangers' organization, so the deal didn't end up looking too bad for the Brewers' front office.

Kelly spent the next two seasons in the Rangers' organization and despite posting a 2.04 ERA in 49 appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023, he never cracked Texas' big-league roster. Instead, Kelly was designated for assignment by the Rangers in July of 2024 after his numbers saw a significant dip in Triple-A. He was claimed by the Colorado Rockies and similarly struggled with their Triple-A club in 2025.

Still holding the potential of a former second-round pick, Kelly was signed to a minor league deal by the Los Angeles Dodgers last November. However, an ERA north of 5.00 this year with Los Angeles' Triple-A squad made Kelly available, and the Cubs will now become the latest organization to try to develop the captivating southpaw.

Kelly can run his fastball up to the high-90s and has a strong slider, which has led him to a high strikeout rate throughout his career. However, he's been plagued by a lack of command and a resulting high walk rate, making it difficult for him to find consistent success at the upper levels of the minor leagues. If Chicago can rein in his control problems, it's certainly possible, given the current lack of options on the Cubs' pitching staff, that Kelly carves out his first big-league role with the Brewers' division rivals.

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