The Rockies have acquired Antoine Kelly and designated Josh Rogers.

The Rockies have announced that they have acquired left-hander Antoine Kelly off waivers from the Rangers. This move comes after the Rangers designated him for assignment. To make room for Kelly on the 40-man roster, Colorado has designated fellow lefty Josh Rogers for assignment.

Kelly, 24, was a second-round pick by the Brewers in 2019 and was part of the trade that sent righty Matt Bush from Texas to Milwaukee in 2022. He had an impressive 2023 season, pitching in the Futures Game and performing well in the Rangers’ Double-A and Triple-A bullpens, with 57 1/3 innings, 11 saves, 2.04 ERA, 32.1% strikeout rate, and 9.3% walk rate.

The once promising trajectory took a turn for the worse in 2024. Kelly's season has been marred by a forearm injury, causing him to miss a significant amount of time. Even when healthy, his performance at the Triple-A level has been lackluster, giving up 17 earned runs in just 16 1/3 innings. While his strikeout rate remains at 25%, which is above average, his walk rate is alarmingly high at 22.9%. Additionally, he has hit two batters, bringing his total walks/hit by pitch to 24 - the same number of strikeouts he has managed this season.

Kelly has faced command issues before, although not as severe as now. He had already walked 13% of his career opponents even before this season. His impressive K-BB profile from last year showed great improvement for the left-handed pitcher. The Rockies are counting on him to return to that level of performance in the remaining games of this season and in the upcoming seasons. Kelly is currently in the first of three minor league option seasons, giving the Rockies the flexibility to send him down to the minors not just this year, but also in 2025 and 2026, provided he remains on the roster until then.

The Colorado Rockies signed Rogers to minor league contracts in the last two offseasons. Although he did not play for the Rockies in 2023, he has participated in five games this season, pitching 9 1/3 innings in relief and allowing seven runs on twelve hits and two walks, while recording two strikeouts. Rogers was added to the MLB roster by the Rockies in late May, but was placed on the injured list less than two weeks later due to a left rotator cuff strain. He was recently reinstated from the injured list and sent down to Triple-A just yesterday. Rogers will now spend about a week in DFA limbo as he awaits to find out if he will be traded, claimed by another team, put through outright waivers, or released.

Originally selected in the 11th round by the New York Yankees in 2015, Rogers was later traded to the Baltimore Orioles as part of the Zack Britton trade in 2018. Following his time with the Orioles, he spent two seasons with the Washington Nationals after signing a minor league deal. Throughout his career, he has pitched a total of 97 1/3 innings in the major leagues across three teams, posting a 5.55 ERA with a 10.9% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate. Additionally, he has pitched 496 innings in Triple-A with similar struggles, recording a 5.72 ERA, 15% strikeout rate, and 6.6% walk rate.