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4 key takeaways from the Braves' late night trade for Jarred Kelenic

The Braves shocked everyone as they struck a late night trade with the Mariners.

By Eric Cole

Sep 30, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners pinch hitter Jarred Kelenic (10) hits a
Sep 30, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners pinch hitter Jarred Kelenic (10) hits a / Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports
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The Braves already tight payroll situation just got a lot tighter

While it was really exciting to see the Braves strike a deal on the first night of the Winter Meetings, it does come with some questions. Atlanta already had a challenging payroll situation given that they were set to be over the luxury tax threshold and probably needed to add a higher end starting pitcher. Now after the trade, the Braves just added almost $20 million to their 2024 payroll with Gonzales and White and still haven't landed the starter they need to be looking for.

The end result of all of this is that the Braves probably have to stay in the trade market to address their rotation needs. It wouldn't be all that surprising if we saw Anthopoulos make a move to shed some payroll as soon as this week and get even more aggressive in their push to trade for Dylan Cease. With the price of free agent starting pitching skyrocketing in recent years in addition to the money they just added to this year's payroll, it is harder and harder to see Atlanta going after a free agent arm like Jordan Montgomery.

Kelenic is loaded with upside, but comes with some risk

Braves fans are understandably excited about all of the potential that Jarred Kelenic brings to the table. He was the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft by the Mets and after he was traded to Seattle, he quickly established himself as a top 5-10 prospect in all of baseball. When he is on, he is a plus hitter with more raw power than scouts thought he would have coming out of the draft. On pure talent, he is an absolute stud.

However, Kelenic's time in the big leagues has been a tough road despite all that talent. He struggled to hit at all during the 2021 and 2022 seasons and while his 2023 line of .253/.327/.419 was an improvement, a .746 OPS isn't exactly lighting the world on fire. The Braves are clearly hoping that a change of scenery and possibly some adjustments will unlock Kelenic's potential, but he is far from a sure thing.

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