Who Should I Trade?

Javier Assad for Merrill Kelly (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick
	Merrill Kelly SP - ARI	Javier Assad SP,RP - CHC
Expert Recommendation	75% Recommended by 3 of 4 experts	25% Recommended by 1 of 4 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 158	‐
VBR	# 461	# 546

Projections

Strikeouts	21	8
Wins	2	1
Saves	0	0
ERA	4.73	4.41
WHIP	1.40	1.38

Misc

Injury Alert	-	MiLB

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 166	‐

Mike Maher BettingPros	# 160	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 213	‐

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 156	# 110

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Merrill Kelly SP - ARI	Javier Assad SP,RP - CHC
2026 Stats


Games Played	25	22

Games Started	25	10

Innings Pitched	141.2	83.1

Wins	9	6

Losses	12	1

Saves	0	2

Blown Saves	0	0

Holds	0	0

Hits Allowed	146	71

Earned Runs	80	32

Home Runs Allowed	26	15

Strikeouts	95	55

Walks	64	21

ERA	5.08	3.46

WHIP	1.48	1.10

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Merrill Kelly SP - ARI	Javier Assad SP,RP - CHC
2026 Projections


Games Played	5	8

Games Started	5	1

Innings Pitched	27.2	9.6

Wins	2	1

Losses	2	0

Saves	0	0

Blown Saves	0	0

Holds	0	0

Hits Allowed	28	9

Earned Runs	14	5

Home Runs Allowed	4	1

Strikeouts	21	8

Walks	10	3

ERA	4.73	4.41

WHIP	1.40	1.38

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Merrill Kelly SP - ARI	Javier Assad SP,RP - CHC
News
	Merrill Kelly allowed two hits over seven scoreless frames with seven strikeouts and four walks in a win on Saturday against the Giants. Ari Koslow Sun, Aug 30th	The Cubs optioned RHP Javier Assad to Triple-A Iowa. Ari Koslow Sat, Aug 22nd
	Merrill Kelly allowed three runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings with four strikeouts and three walks in a loss on Tuesday against the Cubs. Ari Koslow Tue, Aug 25th	The Cubs recalled Javier Assad from Triple-A Iowa. Ari Koslow Mon, Aug 17th
	Merrill Kelly allowed six runs on seven hits over four innings with two strikeouts and four walks in a loss on Tuesday against the Red Sox. Ari Koslow Wed, Aug 19th	The Cubs optioned Javier Assad to Triple-A. Ari Koslow Sun, Aug 16th
	Merrill Kelly allowed six runs on six hits over five innings with two strikeouts and three walks in a loss on Wednesday against the Rockies. Ari Koslow Thu, Aug 13th	Javier Assad allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out three across 5.2 innings in Tuesday's 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicholas Rodriguez Wed, Aug 5th
	Merrill Kelly left his start Friday because of a right leg cramp. Ari Koslow Sat, Aug 8th	Javier Assad allowed one run on six hits and two walks while striking out six across 4.1 innings in Thursday's 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Nicholas Rodriguez Fri, Jul 31st
Notes
There are no recent notes for these players

Who Should I Trade? Player Schedules
Date	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR
	Merrill Kelly SP - ARI			Javier Assad SP,RP - CHC
Thu, Mar 26th	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-8)	#8	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (12-5)	#61
Sat, Mar 28th	@ LAD	Tyler Glasnow (3-0)	#18	vs WSH	Miles Mikolas (3-9)
Sun, Mar 29th				vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-8)	#195
Mon, Mar 30th	vs DET	Justin Verlander (0-1)	#166	vs LAA	Ryan Johnson (3-7)	#216
Tue, Mar 31st	vs DET	Casey Mize (5-8)	#41	vs LAA	Jose Soriano (11-7)	#36
Wed, Apr 1st	vs DET	Tarik Skubal (8-7)	#2	vs LAA	Yusei Kikuchi (0-4)	#95
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (9-5)	#196	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (9-7)	#79
Sun, Apr 5th	vs ATL	Martin Perez (8-8)	#226	@ CLE	Parker Messick (10-8)	#32
Mon, Apr 6th				@ TB	Shane McClanahan (10-6)	#52
Tue, Apr 7th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (6-11)	#38	@ TB	Mason Englert (0-3)	#225
Wed, Apr 8th	@ NYM	David Peterson (7-7)	#75	@ TB	Joe Boyle (0-1)	#213
Fri, Apr 10th	@ PHI	Jesus Luzardo (12-5)	#9	vs PIT	Carmen Mlodzinski (7-6)	#118
Sat, Apr 11th	@ PHI	Taijuan Walker (1-4)		vs PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (13-5)	#31
Sun, Apr 12th	@ PHI	Zach Pop		vs PIT	Bubba Chandler (6-9)	#116
Mon, Apr 13th	@ BAL	Dean Kremer (2-5)	#103	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (16-4)	#3
Tue, Apr 14th	@ BAL	Trevor Rogers (9-9)	#56	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (5-10)	#47
Wed, Apr 15th	@ BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-12)	#53	@ PHI	Jesus Luzardo (12-5)	#9
Fri, Apr 17th	vs TOR	Braydon Fisher (3-4)	#143	vs NYM	Kodai Senga (0-9)	#102
Sat, Apr 18th	vs TOR	Max Scherzer (1-7)	#149	vs NYM	Freddy Peralta (6-11)	#38
Sun, Apr 19th	vs TOR	Kevin Gausman (8-11)	#23	vs NYM	Tobias Myers (0-2)	#152
Mon, Apr 20th				vs PHI	Aaron Nola (5-10)	#47
Tue, Apr 21st	vs CWS	Sean Burke (7-6)	#78	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (12-5)	#9
Wed, Apr 22nd	vs CWS	Anthony Kay (9-6)	#173	vs PHI	Kyle Backhus
Thu, Apr 23rd	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-6)	#121	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (16-4)	#3
Fri, Apr 24th				@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-8)	#106
Sat, Apr 25th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#423	@ LAD	Roki Sasaki (5-5)	#159
Sun, Apr 26th	vs SD	Michael King (8-9)	#55	@ LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-5)	#134
Mon, Apr 27th				@ SD	Randy Vasquez (10-6)	#252
Tue, Apr 28th	@ MIL	Chad Patrick (7-4)	#128	@ SD	Walker Buehler (8-6)	#212
Wed, Apr 29th	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-7)	#163	@ SD	Matt Waldron (1-2)	#211
Fri, May 1st	@ CHC	Colin Rea (8-8)	#169	vs ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#177
Sat, May 2nd	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (8-9)	#29	vs ARI	Ryne Nelson (3-5)	#132
Sun, May 3rd	@ CHC	Matthew Boyd (8-3)	#43	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (9-12)	#129
Mon, May 4th				vs CIN	Chase Petty (1-2)	#355
Tue, May 5th	vs PIT	Bubba Chandler (6-9)	#116	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-10)	#90
Wed, May 6th	vs PIT	Paul Skenes (9-11)	#5	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-12)	#223
Thu, May 7th	vs PIT	Mitch Keller (6-8)		vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (6-8)	#219
Fri, May 8th	vs NYM	Nolan McLean (10-8)	#33	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (5-10)	#120
Sat, May 9th	vs NYM	Clay Holmes (5-6)	#62	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#229
Sun, May 10th	vs NYM	Huascar Brazoban (5-2)	#264	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (9-9)	#7
Tue, May 12th	@ TEX	MacKenzie Gore (7-10)	#35	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (9-5)	#196
Wed, May 13th	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (5-10)	#120	@ ATL	JR Ritchie (1-2)	#300
Thu, May 14th				@ ATL	Chris Sale (13-9)	#4
Fri, May 15th	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (4-10)	#419	@ CWS	Sean Burke (7-6)	#78
Sat, May 16th	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (12-8)	#436	@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-6)	#121
Sun, May 17th	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-11)	#199	@ CWS	Erick Fedde (7-8)	#239
Mon, May 18th	vs SF	Robbie Ray (11-7)	#83	vs MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-7)	#163
Tue, May 19th	vs SF	Landen Roupp (8-13)	#74	vs MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (14-5)	#6
Wed, May 20th	vs SF	Tyler Mahle (5-10)	#68	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (10-3)	#54
Fri, May 22nd	vs COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (12-8)	#436	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-7)	#200
Sat, May 23rd	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-11)	#199	vs HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#183
Sun, May 24th	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#432	vs HOU	Peter Lambert (8-7)	#164
Mon, May 25th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (8-13)	#74	@ PIT	Carmen Mlodzinski (7-6)	#118
Tue, May 26th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (5-10)	#68	@ PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (13-5)	#31
Wed, May 27th	@ SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)		@ PIT	Bubba Chandler (6-9)	#116
Thu, May 28th				@ PIT	Paul Skenes (9-11)	#5
Fri, May 29th	@ SEA	George Kirby (9-10)	#24	@ STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#274
Sat, May 30th	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (9-9)	#11	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (10-4)	#96
Sun, May 31st	@ SEA	Bryce Miller (4-8)	#73	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-12)	#100
Tue, Jun 2nd	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (8-6)	#227	vs ATH	Gage Jump (6-8)	#72
Wed, Jun 3rd	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	vs ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-12)	#251
Thu, Jun 4th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-5)	#134	vs ATH	J.T. Ginn (9-8)	#193
Fri, Jun 5th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (15-4)	#37	vs SF	Robbie Ray (11-7)	#83
Sat, Jun 6th	vs WSH	Zack Littell (8-8)	#276	vs SF	Landen Roupp (8-13)	#74
Sun, Jun 7th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (12-5)	#61	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)
Tue, Jun 9th	@ MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)		@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (12-8)	#436
Wed, Jun 10th	@ MIA	Ryan Gusto (1-3)	#154	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-11)	#199
Thu, Jun 11th	@ MIA	Tyler Phillips (3-6)	#236	@ COL	Ryan Feltner (5-8)	#435
Fri, Jun 12th	@ CIN	Nick Lodolo (3-3)	#127	@ SF	Landen Roupp (8-13)	#74
Sat, Jun 13th	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (6-8)	#219	@ SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)
Sun, Jun 14th	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-10)	#90	@ SF	Logan Webb (8-8)	#21
Mon, Jun 15th	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (8-9)	#243	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-11)	#199
Tue, Jun 16th	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (4-8)	#39	vs COL	Ryan Feltner (5-8)	#435
Wed, Jun 17th	vs LAA	Sam Aldegheri (3-4)	#428	vs COL	Sean Sullivan (0-3)	#425
Fri, Jun 19th	vs MIN	Connor Prielipp (3-7)	#81	vs TOR	Kevin Gausman (8-11)	#23
Sat, Jun 20th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-6)	#40	vs TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)
Tue, Jun 23rd	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (10-4)	#96	@ NYM	Kodai Senga (0-9)	#102
Wed, Jun 24th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-12)	#100	@ NYM	Sean Manaea (4-6)	#58
Thu, Jun 25th				@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (6-11)	#38
Fri, Jun 26th	@ TB	Nick Martinez (13-4)	#71	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (14-5)	#6
Sat, Jun 27th	@ TB	Cole Sulser		@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (10-3)	#54
Sun, Jun 28th	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (14-5)	#15	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Mon, Jun 29th	vs SF	Tyler Mahle (5-10)	#68	vs SD	Griffin Canning (4-9)	#142
Tue, Jun 30th	vs SF	Landen Roupp (8-13)	#74	vs SD	JP Sears (3-4)	#275
Wed, Jul 1st	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)		vs SD	Walker Buehler (8-6)	#212
Fri, Jul 3rd	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (10-3)	#54	vs STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#274
Sat, Jul 4th	vs MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		vs STL	Kyle Leahy (10-4)	#96
Sun, Jul 5th	vs MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-7)	#163	vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-12)	#100
Tue, Jul 7th	@ SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#423	@ BAL	Shane Baz (5-14)	#64
Wed, Jul 8th	@ SD	Michael King (8-9)	#55	@ BAL	Dean Kremer (2-5)	#103
Thu, Jul 9th	@ SD	Griffin Canning (4-9)	#142	@ BAL	Trevor Rogers (9-9)	#56
Fri, Jul 10th	@ LAD	Kyle Hurt		@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)
Sat, Jul 11th	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-8)	#8	@ CIN	Nick Lodolo (3-3)	#127
Sun, Jul 12th	@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-8)	#106	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-10)	#90
Fri, Jul 17th	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (5-9)	#122	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-4)	#108
Sat, Jul 18th	vs STL	Dustin May (6-8)	#44	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-6)	#40
Sun, Jul 19th	vs STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#274	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (8-8)	#105
Mon, Jul 20th	vs ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-12)	#251	vs DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#101
Tue, Jul 21st	vs ATH	Jack Perkins (3-10)	#138	vs DET	Framber Valdez (8-9)	#45
Wed, Jul 22nd	vs ATH	Gage Jump (6-8)	#72	vs DET	Keider Montero (9-8)	#148
Fri, Jul 24th	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-2)	#416	@ PIT	Jared Jones (2-6)	#63
Sat, Jul 25th	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (15-4)	#37	@ PIT	Paul Skenes (9-11)	#5
Sun, Jul 26th	@ WSH	Miles Mikolas (3-9)		@ PIT	Braxton Ashcraft (13-5)	#31
Mon, Jul 27th	@ PIT	Mitch Keller (6-8)		@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-12)	#100
Tue, Jul 28th	@ PIT	Bubba Chandler (6-9)	#116	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (5-9)	#122
Wed, Jul 29th	@ PIT	Jared Jones (2-6)	#63	@ STL	Dustin May (6-8)	#44
Thu, Jul 30th				@ STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#274
Fri, Jul 31st	@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (5-14)	#46	vs NYY	Will Warren (8-6)	#57
Sat, Aug 1st	@ CLE	Parker Messick (10-8)	#32	vs NYY	Max Fried (4-4)	#17
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ CLE	Gavin Williams (12-7)	#20	vs NYY	Gerrit Cole (7-7)	#19
Mon, Aug 3rd	vs SD	Michael King (8-9)	#55	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-5)	#134
Tue, Aug 4th	vs SD	Randy Vasquez (10-6)	#252	vs LAD	Tarik Skubal (8-7)	#2
Wed, Aug 5th	vs SD	Casey Mize (5-8)	#41	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (8-6)	#227
Thu, Aug 6th	vs SD	Walker Buehler (8-6)	#212	vs TOR	Dylan Cease (9-5)	#10
Fri, Aug 7th	vs LAD	Roki Sasaki (5-5)	#159	@ KC	Daniel Lynch (4-4)	#190
Sat, Aug 8th	vs LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-8)	#8	@ KC	Seth Lugo (6-7)	#155
Sun, Aug 9th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-5)	#134	@ KC	Randy Dobnak (2-2)	#433
Tue, Aug 11th	vs COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (12-8)	#436	@ WSH	Jake Irvin (2-8)	#195
Wed, Aug 12th	vs COL	Ryan Feltner (5-8)	#435	@ WSH	Jackson Kent (1-2)	#186
Thu, Aug 13th				@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (12-5)	#61
Fri, Aug 14th	@ ATL	Chris Sale (13-9)	#4	vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-12)	#100
Sat, Aug 15th	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (9-5)	#196	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (5-9)	#122
Sun, Aug 16th	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (8-7)	#187	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (3-3)	#188
Mon, Aug 17th	@ BOS	Alec Gamboa		vs CWS	Luis Castillo (4-10)	#97
Tue, Aug 18th	@ BOS	Ranger Suarez (5-3)	#30	vs CWS	Bryan Hudson (4-4)	#119
Wed, Aug 19th	@ BOS	Payton Tolle (8-6)	#27	vs CWS	Sean Newcomb (2-3)	#181
Fri, Aug 21st	vs CIN	Nick Lodolo (3-3)	#127	@ SEA	Emerson Hancock (7-8)	#65
Sat, Aug 22nd	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (6-8)	#219	@ SEA	Kade Anderson (0-0)	#48
Sun, Aug 23rd	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-10)	#90	@ SEA	Bryce Miller (4-8)	#73
Mon, Aug 24th	vs CHC	Kevin Gausman (8-11)	#23	@ ARI	Merrill Kelly (9-12)	#129
Tue, Aug 25th	vs CHC	Clay Holmes (5-6)	#62	@ ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (7-1)	#76
Wed, Aug 26th	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (8-3)	#43	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (14-4)	#82
Fri, Aug 28th	@ SF	Blade Tidwell (0-1)	#184	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (6-8)	#219
Sat, Aug 29th	@ SF	Yunior Marte (0-0)	#347	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-10)	#90
Sun, Aug 30th				vs CIN	Chase Burns (14-3)	#22
Mon, Aug 31st	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (5-10)	#47	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (10-3)	#54
Tue, Sep 1st	vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (12-5)	#9	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (4-5)	#98
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs PHI	Andrew Painter (3-8)	#198	vs MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (14-5)	#6
Thu, Sep 3rd				vs MIL	Logan Henderson (9-2)	#28
Fri, Sep 4th	@ HOU	Ethan Pecko (0-0)	#178	@ MIA	Janson Junk (6-8)	#117
Sat, Sep 5th	@ HOU	Peter Lambert (8-7)	#164	@ MIA	Tyler Phillips (3-6)	#236
Sun, Sep 6th	@ HOU	Hayden Wesneski (4-1)	#94	@ MIA	Ryan Gusto (1-3)	#154
Mon, Sep 7th	@ KC	Noah Cameron (9-8)	#67	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (4-5)	#98
Tue, Sep 8th	@ KC			@ MIL
Wed, Sep 9th	@ KC			@ MIL
Fri, Sep 11th	vs TEX			vs PIT
Sat, Sep 12th	vs TEX			vs PIT
Sun, Sep 13th	vs TEX			vs PIT
Mon, Sep 14th	vs MIA			vs ATL
Tue, Sep 15th	vs MIA			vs ATL
Wed, Sep 16th	vs MIA			vs ATL
Fri, Sep 18th	vs NYY			@ CIN
Sat, Sep 19th	vs NYY			@ CIN
Sun, Sep 20th	vs NYY			@ CIN
Tue, Sep 22nd	@ COL			vs MIA
Wed, Sep 23rd	@ COL			vs MIA
Thu, Sep 24th	@ COL			vs MIA
Fri, Sep 25th	@ SD			@ BOS
Sat, Sep 26th	@ SD			@ BOS
Sun, Sep 27th	@ SD			@ BOS
Fri, Mar 27th	@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-8)	#106
Thu, Apr 2nd	vs ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-3)	#104
Sat, Apr 4th	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (8-7)	#187
Thu, Apr 9th	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (10-8)	#33
Thu, Apr 30th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Mon, May 11th	@ TEX	Jakob Junis
Thu, May 21st	vs COL	Zach Agnos (0-2)	#426
Mon, Jun 1st	vs LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-8)	#106
Sun, Jun 21st	vs MIN	Mike Paredes (0-3)	#326
Mon, Jun 22nd	@ STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#274
Mon, Jul 6th	@ SD	Walker Buehler (8-6)	#212
Thu, Jul 23rd	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (5-9)	#122
Mon, Aug 10th	vs COL	Gabriel Hughes (0-6)	#414
Thu, Aug 27th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (8-13)	#74

Who Should I Trade?

Javier Assad for Merrill Kelly (2026)

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