The Atlanta Braves acquired outfielder Jarred Kelenic, left-hander Marco Gonzales and first baseman Evan White from the Seattle Mariners for right-handers Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips on Sunday, kicking off the winter meetings with a money-dump deal by the Mariners that netted the Braves the high-upside outfielder.
The trade, which represents the second purge of veterans by the Mariners after they dealt third baseman Eugenio Suarez to Arizona earlier in the winter, will save Seattle a significant amount of future guaranteed money. While the Mariners included an unknown amount of cash in the deal, White and Gonzales are owed $29 million.
The Braves, in the market for a left fielder and rotation help, were willing to take on the money for the 24-year-old Kelenic, who has shown flashes of greatness and will slot into a lineup that this year slugged .501, the highest mark in Major League Baseball history. Kelenic batted .253/.327/.419 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs in 105 games, missing a chunk of time after breaking his foot when he kicked a water cooler in frustration after a strikeout.
Kelenic was the last player remaining from the blockbuster 2018 trade that sent closer Edwin Diaz and second baseman Robinson Cano to the New York Mets. At one point a top-five prospect in baseball, Kelenic possesses massive power — he hit a 482-foot home run at Wrigley Field this year — but has struggled to make contact, striking out 132 times in 416 plate appearances in 2023. With just under two years of service time, Kelenic is not set to reach free agency until following the 2028 season.