Last offseason, the Atlanta Braves made a surprising trade with the Seattle Mariners, acquiring outfielder Jarred Kelenic, pitcher Marco Gonzalez, and first baseman Evan White in exchange for Cole Phillips and Jackson Kowar.
Among the three players the Braves got from the Mariners, the only player Atlanta kept was Kelenic, who they signed to a one-year contract before the start of the 2024 season. Kelenic was coming off a solid 2023 season with the Mariners, hitting .253 with 11 home runs and 49 RBI.
When the former first-round pick joined the Braves, there was a thought that he could be even better than his way with the Mariners. However, that didn’t happen, even though Kelenic got a ton of ABs with Ronald Acuna Jr. and Michael Harris II injured.
The former Mariners outfielder saw his batting average dip from .253 to .231 but slugged 15 home runs and had 45 RBI in 131 games.
Jarred Kelenic's New Injury Update Helps Explain 2024 Struggles
According to David O’Brien of The Athletic, Kelenic said he “played through some nagging injuries” but didn’t want those injuries to be used as excuses for his performance last season.
The 25-year-old outfielder played well in the first half of the season, slashing .255/.303/.418 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI. Kelenic hit .288 with four doubles and four RBI in 23 games across March and April.
Kelenic's batting average went down to .231 in May despite hitting three home runs and eight RBI. Then in June, the Braves outfielder was locked in at the plate, slugging .304 with four doubles, six home runs and 14 RBI.
However, Kelenic’s performance dropped off in the second half for multiple reasons (Harris' return from injury, the addition of Jorge Soler, and more ABs for Ramon Laureano). The former Mariners outfielder slashed .183/.252/.343 with five home runs and 16 RBI.
Nonetheless, the Braves hope Kelenic can bounce back this year as he’ll see a lot of time in right field until Acuna Jr. is cleared to return from his ACL injury. But when Acuna is ready to play, Kelenic will likely become the fourth outfielder behind Harris and Jurickson Profar.