
Braves’ Costly Gamble on Jarred Kelenic Is Looking Worse by the Day
Despite Jarred Kelenic’s inconsistent hitting over three MLB seasons, the Atlanta Braves orchestrated a tangled web of trades to acquire him—moves that have ultimately cost them over $20 million and, so far, netted them little more than a fringe outfielder.
A High-Risk Move with Low Reward
The Kelenic trade never looked like a slam dunk. After the 2021 season, his former minor league manager hyped him up as a future star. But while Kelenic can hit the ball hard and post a decent barrel rate, his contact issues are glaring. In Seattle, he struck out in over 30% of his plate appearances and missed badly on offspeed and breaking pitches more than 40% of the time.
He flashed potential in early 2023, slashing .308/.366/.615 in March and April—but that momentum vanished. He cooled to .250/.304/.423 in May and hit a low point in June, when frustration boiled over: he kicked a water cooler, broke his foot, and never fully rebounded. The overall numbers looked okay, but the second half told a different story.
The Price Tag Behind the Chaos
If Atlanta had only taken on Marco Gonzales’ bloated contract to get Kelenic, the deal might’ve been manageable. But GM Alex Anthopoulos opted to also take Evan White’s dead-money deal, and things got messy fast.
The Braves’ sole target was Kelenic—but they had to offload both Gonzales and White to free up roster space. Releasing them outright would’ve cost an extra $4.7 million in luxury tax calculations, making a bad deal worse.
Let’s break down the numbers:
- Dec. 3: Braves acquire Kelenic, Gonzales ($12.5M), White ($7M), and $2.25M in cash from Seattle
- Dec. 5: Gonzales + $9.25M sent to Pittsburgh
- Dec. 8: White + a prospect dealt to the Angels for David Fletcher ($14M) and Max Stassi ($7M)
- Dec. 9: Stassi + $6.26M flipped to the White Sox
The result: Atlanta is still on the hook for most of Gonzales and Stassi’s contracts, and all of Fletcher’s future salary. The total: $21.51 million in commitments. After subtracting Seattle’s cash, the Braves paid roughly $19.26 million for a player they hoped would finally break out—and who hasn’t.
Beat writer Mark Bowman puts the number closer to $17 million, depending on how you calculate tax hits and offsetting factors.
Leave a Reply