Ex-Seattle Mariners top prospect Jarred Kelenic signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on Monday.
Recently, Kelenic elected to enter free agency after the Chicago White Sox designated him for assignment.
During the offseason, Kelenic signed a minor league deal with the White Sox. While in AAA, he batted .202/.346/.464 in 26 games. Despite some poor luck with batted balls in play, Chicago gave him an opportunity in the major leagues. Unfortunately for him, Kelenic’s White Sox career was brief as he batted .226/.305/.321 and struck out for 33.9% in 59 plate appearances. Some of those games were against the Seattle Mariners.
At this point, Kelenic no longer owns any option years. He becomes a player fighting for his major league career on the edge of a minor league roster. Given his ability, he has very little to prove in AAA, but continues to fail at the major league level. His career batting line is .211/.283/.374.
Ex-Seattle Mariners Top Prospect Kelenic Fighting for MLB Career
GettyAfter Kelenic left the Mariners, his career took a sharp turn for the worst.
When the Mariners began their rebuild in 2018, Kelenic was the headline prospect in the trade that sent Robinson Canó and Edwin Díaz to the New York Mets. At the time, the consensus was that the Mariners acquired one of the few five-tool prospects in all of baseball.
However, his Mariners career left a lot to be desired for a prospect of his caliber. In his first two years in the majors, Kelenic batted .168/.251/.338 with 21 home runs in 147 games. He posted -1.9 wins above replacement.
Kelenic’s career finally made a positive stride in 2023 when he batted for .253/.327/.419 and 11 home runs in 105 games. He had a wins above replacement of 2.1.
In the 2023 offseason, the Mariners traded Kelenic to the Atlanta Braves with Marco Gonzalez and another former top prospect Evan White for Cole Phillips and Jackson Kowar. The move was one designed to clear finances for the Mariners. They needed to offload a couple bad contracts in Gonzalez and White. While controversial at the time, the Mariners must feel fortunate that Kelenic failed to develop with the Braves.
Jarred Kelenic’s Career on Life Support
GettyWhile Kelenic is only 26, time is running out for the former Mariners top prospect.
Kelenic is on a minor league deal with the Ranger without any options. If he’s promoted to the major league roster, he will have to prove his worth. Given the lack of options, the only way the Rangers can demote him back to AAA is to designate him for assignment. At that point, Kelenic may just have to sign a similar deal with another team.
Perhaps another option for Kelenic is to go overseas. Historically, some MLB hitters have gone to the KBO in Korea or the NPB in Japan and revived their careers. Those moves have sometimes resulted in fresh major league contracts after a larger sample size. While such a move would be humbling for the former Mariner, it may be the chance he needs to truly change the tide of his baseball life.
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