Jarred Kelenic
Jarred Kelenic might have been the Braves' most interesting move this offseason. In terms of cost, the Braves had to leverage their payroll a bit and take on some bad contracts to land the former top prospect, but there is no denying his upside when he is right as he has an All-Star ceiling. However, a certain amount of skepticism was warranted given his struggles in Seattle in the big leagues.
Kelenic was never really at risk of losing his roster spot this spring. Everyone knew that he was going to have to make some adjustments and that he could be a work in progress heading into the 2024 season. However, after posting a paltry .223 OPS this spring despite playing quite a bit, it is fair to wonder if Atlanta's investment in Kelenic is going to pay off.
The downstream effects of the uncertainty surrounding Kelenic have been significant. The Braves are now carrying Forrest Wall on their Opening Day roster as a back-up plan and they also went out and signed old friend Adam Duvall on a surprisingly cheap one year deal to platoon with Kelenic as well.
Braves fans shouldn't be looking to drop Kelenic off on the side of the road just yet. He is young, tooled up, and extremely talented to the point that they need to try to figure out how to get him in a good spot. However, his performance this spring is a reminder that nothing is guaranteed in the game of baseball and the Braves have done well to have a strong plan B in the event that it doesn't work out.