BREAKING: Atlanta trades for Jarred Kelenic, Marco Gonzales, and Evan White from Seattle

The Atlanta Braves have agreed to terms with the Seattle Mariners to acquire both a starting pitcher and a left fielder

The Atlanta Braves have made the first (and biggest) move of the MLB Winter Meetings. 

The Braves have struck a deal with the Seattle Mariners that will see Atlanta acquire three players: Outfielder Jarred Kelenic, left-handed pitcher Marco Gonzales and first baseman Evan White. 

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The Braves are giving up right-handed pitchers Cole Phillips, one of their top prospects, and Jackson Kowar, who was recently acquired from Kansas City, to Seattle in the deal. Phillips, Atlanta's 2nd round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, has Tommy John surgery in April of last year and had not yet officially debuted for Atlanta in minor league competition prior to the deal.   

The move amounts to a salary dump for Seattle, who already traded Eugenio Suarez to Arizona this offseason to lower their payroll by $11M for 2024, and they can expect to save an additional $20M in 2024 payroll commitments through this trade. 

OF Jarred Kelenic

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Immediately slotting into the left field starting role is outfielder Jarred Kelenic. Still just 24, Kelenic was worth 2.0 WAR last season, batting .253/.327/.419 across 105 games. 2018's #6 overall pick out of high school, Kelenic has struggled to sub-.200 batting averages across parts of 2021 & 2022, but broke out with a 109 OPS+ in regular playtime last season. 

Capable of playing all three outfield positions, the lefty Kelenic provides both experience and versatility to a Braves outfield that was without proven options behind Ronald Acuña Jr and Michael Harris II. 

Kelenic will make league minimum in 2024, with his first year of arbitration set for 2025 and not reaching free agency until 2029, at age 29.  

LHP Marco Gonzales

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An immediate candidate to slot into the rotation for 2024, the 31 year-old Gonzales is coming off of an injury-riddled year that saw him make only ten starts for a Seattle Mariners club that had to lean heavily on young pitching to contend for the postseason. 

Dealing with a nerve issue in his forearm, he spent over two months on the injured list before having season-ending surgery in August. 

But in the four seasons prior to 2023, Gonzales made 102 starts with a 3.92 ERA, showing the ability to go both deep in games and run higher workloads. He's owed $12.25M in 2024, with a $15M club option for 2025 that contains no buyout.  

1B Evan White

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The infielder White, one of only six players to sign a major league contract prior to accumulating any service time in MLB, has seen injuries keep him from contributing at the major league level recently. He's accumulated only 306 plate appearances in 84 career MLB games, all coming in 2020 and 2021. 

White, who won a Gold Glove in the shortened 2020 season, dealt most recently with a hip injury that caused him to play in only 2 AAA games last season. He's owed $15M over the next two seasons, with the earliest exit being 2026 when a $2M buyout is due if Atlanta declines the first of three club option years. 

So, what now? 

After the trade, Alex Anthopoulos has indicated to local media that the team's probably done addressing left field, with both Kelenic and Vaughn Grissom in the mix (and Grissom available for infield work, as well). Atlanta's potentially still interested in a starter, if the right deal manifests, but tonight's trade will go a long way towards finalizing the significant parts of the roster for the 2024 season. 

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