5-Player Blockbuster Trade Deal Sets In Place As Braves Welcomes Top Key Players….
The Seattle Mariners have traded Jarred Kelenic to the Atlanta Braves in a blockbuster five-player deal.
One of the largest offseason trades involves Jarred Kelenic, a former top prospect who is being traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Atlanta Braves.
Right-hand pitcher Jackson Kowar and right-hand pitcher Cole Phillips will be acquired by the Seattle Mariners from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for outfielder Jarred Kelenic, left-hand pitcher Marco Gonzales, and first baseman Evan White, the teams announced on Sunday night.
Atlanta is also receiving cash as part of the deal.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan described the trade as a salary dump for Seattle. Gonzales was due $12.25 million in 2024, while White was set to make $7 million.
To shed that money, the Mariners had to package the pair with the 24-year-old Kelenic.
Kelenic was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2018 MLB Draft, and the New York Mets flipped him to the Mariners six months later to bring in second baseman Robinson Cano and closer Edwin Diaz.
By 2020, Kelenic had become the Mariners’ top prospect.
In 93 games after making his major league debut in 2021, Kelenic hit just.181, had a.615 OPS, and a -1.8 WAR. In 2022, he alternated between the majors and the minors, batting.141 in the second season.
Until May of 2023, Kelenic was hitting.277 with an.846 OPS, suggesting that he was finally acclimating to MLB pitching. However, as the season went on, his output fell off. To exacerbate the situation, Kelenic broke his foot and ended up spending almost two months on the injured list after getting frustrated and kicking a water cooler after a loss.
Kelenic ended the year with 11 home runs. 49 RBI, 13 stolen bases, a .253 batting average, a .746 OPS and a 2.0 WAR in 105 games.
As USA Today’s Bob Nightengale explained the deal in his report, the Mariners “ran out of patience” with Kelenic by trading him to Atlanta.
Gonzales, 31, will join Kelenic in Atlanta after making just 10 starts in 2023 as a result of a flexor strain and nerve issues in his elbow. Since joining the Mariners’ starting rotation in 2017, Gonzales is 61-47 with a 4.08 ERA, 1.272 WHIP and 6.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
White, on the other hand, has not played in the majors since 2021 due to multiple hip, hernia and groin injuries. He won a Gold Glove Award as a rookie in 2020, though, and he had 10 home runs in his first 84 MLB outings.