Jarred Kelenic, Thank You. Be the Best Version of Yourself in Atlanta!

I find it difficult to believe that Jarred Kelenic is 24 years old at the beginning of this 2024 season! The Mariners traded him to the Atlanta Braves with Gonzales and Evan White.

Many Mariners fans have been in your corner for several years! While we will miss you, we look forward to watching you grow as a member of the Atlanta Braves.

Jarred Kelenic's Baseball History

The Mets drafted Kelenic in the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft from Waukesha West HS in Wisconsin. New York later traded Kelenic and four others to Seattle for Robinso Canó, Edwin Díaz, and cash.

Kelenic spent 2018, 2019, and part of 2021 playing in the minor leagues, first with New York and then with the Mariners. He made his MLB debut with Seattle on May 13, 2021. In 2022, Jarred played most of his games in AAA Tacoma, but in 2023, he played 105 games for Seattle.

We are grateful for Kelenic’s contributions in the first half of the 2023 season. Do you remember the series with the Cubs when he hit a home run in each of the three games at Wrigley Field? The distance for one of the homers was 482 feet.

I suspect I was not the only fan who silently told Kelenic that he should not be so hard on himself. Perhaps the broken foot, however, showed him that he needed a better way to handle his frustrations.

The Atlanta Braves

Mark Bowman, who covers the Braves for MLB, has written about the Kelenic trade to the Braves. Kelenic was part of a three-man trade to Atlanta with Marco Gonzales and Evan White. According to Bowman, Kelenic still cost Atlanta a great deal of money. Bowman also assesses Kelenic’s performance with the Mariners, wondering whether Kelenic will be surprisingly good in 2024. He seems somewhat skeptical.

The Best Version of Ourselves

What would each of us look like if we were our best selves? Kelenic hopes that his time with the Braves will help him get there.

"I mean, they're some of the best players in the game on that roster. And that's one thing that I'm really looking forward to. And I think that it'll allow me to, just get comfortable in the box and really hone in on what makes me click and what makes me the best version of myself... And I think if I can just focus on that, I think, I'll be right where I need to be."

Best of luck this coming season, Jarred! Good luck with your new team. We look forward to your return to T-Mobile Park in late April.