The Seattle Mariners and Atlanta Braves completed a 5 player swap late Sunday night to kick off the winter meetings. Atlanta will acquire OF Jarred Kelenic, LHP Marco Gonzales, 1B Evan White and cash from Seattle, and will send RHP Jackson Kowar and RHP Cole Phillips to the Pacific North-West.
The deal represents the second cost cutting measure taken by Mariners GM Justin Hollander this offseason following the trade of 3B Eugenio Suarez a few weeks prior. After returning to the postseason for the first time in two decades in 2022, Seattle went 88-74 last year, finishing 1 game shy of the playoffs.
“I want to thank Marco, JK and Evan for their contributions to the club,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. “All three played key roles at different stages of our growth over the past several seasons. As we continue to work through this offseason with the goal of improving our team for 2024 and beyond, we believe the additions of Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips, as well as the roster and payroll flexibility created tonight, will move us closer to that goal.”
Kelenic is joining the third organization of his young career after failing to meet his enormous expectations with the Mariners. The once highly-touted prospect was considered a prized possession as part of the 2018 deal that sent Robinson Canó and Edwin Díaz to the New York Mets.
A former top 5 prospect in all of baseball, Kelenic has struggled with consistency over his 3 year big league career. Across 252 big league games he’s struck out 299 times, while hitting only .204 during that time. That being said, he’s clubbed 32 HRs and swiped 24 bases during that same period, making him an intriguing add for the Braves at just 24 years old.
Now, five years removed from the Mariners-Mets blockbuster, Kelenic will aim to re-establish his value with the Braves next season. But the lefty will have to compete for playing time in left field alongside right-hander Vaughn Grissom, who’ll transition to the outfield in 2024.
“I talked to Jarred tonight and told him we really like Vaughn and feel like Vaughn really has a shot out there,” Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos said at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. “Obviously, we already know [Vaughn] can play the infield. We think Jarred has a chance to be a tremendous player, as well.”
“We’re trying to win a World Series and [manager Brian Snitker] will be the one that makes the decisions in terms of who goes out there and competes.”
Gonzales and White – who hasn’t played in the majors since 2021 – each add an extra layer of depth to the Braves roster, although it’s unclear how the pair will factor into the equation next season.
White was a former top prospect himself, but became expendable given the development of 2022 All-Star 1st baseman Ty France. With $15M owed to him over the course of the next two seasons, and an uneven track record due to injuries, White was largely viewed as expendable in the Mariners organization.
Meanwhile the 31 year old Gonzales is coming off a surgical procedure to address a nerve issue in his arm. He was slated to make $12M in 2024 and had a $15M option for 2025 in his contract. By moving on from the veteran hurler, Suarez, White, and Teoscar Hernadez via free agency, Seattle is saving roughly $27M on their opening day payroll this season.
In the process, the Mariners added an arm in Kowar – who Atlanta acquired a few weeks ago in the Kyle Wright trade from the Kansas City Royals – who can contribute at the big-league level next season.
The 27-year-old, a former first-round selection in 2018, made 23 relief appearances for the Royals this past season, posting a 6.43 ERA with 29 punchouts and 20 walks over 28.0 innings. He previously worked as a starter before transitioning to the bullpen full-time in 2023.
Phillips, meanwhile, has yet to throw a single pitch since undergoing Tommy John surgery before the Braves selected him in the second round in 2022.
With vacancies at both corner outfield spots, Seattle likely isn’t done retooling at the winter meetings just yet. With their recent savings, the organization could fill one or both holes by pursuing stars like Juan Soto and Randy Arozarena via trade, both of whom the club has been linked to in recent weeks.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Kenny Rowland. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.