Former Braves coach Ron Washington shares departing message to his players in Atlanta

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Upon departing Atlanta to be the Angels’ manager, Ron Washington spoke to Ozzie Albies and the rest of his infielders, one at a time. He shared a common message.

“One guy don’t run any show,” Washington said. “I don’t care how good he is. One guy can’t do it.”

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Mariners trade OF Jarred Kelenic to Braves in 5-player deal: What’s Atlanta getting in former elite prospect?

The Seattle Mariners traded outfielder Jarred Kelenic to the Atlanta Braves, the teams announced Sunday. The Braves also received left-handed pitcher Marco Gonzales, first baseman Evan White and cash considerations from Seattle. Pitchers Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips are going to the Mariners.

Kelenic, 24, completed his third MLB season in 2023, posting 11 home runs, 49 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 105 games while slashing .253/.327/.419. He’s hit .204/.283/.373 with 32 homers and 109 RBIs through 872 career at-bats.

The No. 6 pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, Kelenic rose through the minors quickly, reaching Double A in 2019 in his age-19 season and making his major-league debut in 2021. Kelenic ranked No. 4 in The Athletic Keith Law’s top prospects for 2021.

Gonzales, who turns 32 in February, went 4-1 in 2023, posting a 5.22 ERA in 10 starts with 34 strikeouts in 50 innings before season-ending surgery for a nerve issue in his forearm. The Braves do not plan on keeping Gonzales, league sources said Monday, as the pitcher is expected to be part of another deal.

White, 27, missed nearly the entire 2023 season because of injury, appearing in two games for Triple-A Tacoma. In 84 major-league games from 2020 to 2021, White slashed .165/.235/.308 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs in 306 at-bats.

Kelenic is entering his final pre-arbitration year in 2024. He is arbitration-eligible in 2025 before entering free agency in 2029.

The Mariners finished 88-74 in 2023, finishing third in the American League West and failing to make the playoffs. The Braves finished 2023 with the best regular-season record, winning 104 games. Atlanta lost in the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Athletic has live coverage of MLB free agency.

What are the Braves getting in Kelenic?

In Kelenic, the Braves get a former elite prospect whose development stalled with the Mariners, who finally lost patience and dealt him despite his still being a year from arbitration and five years from free agency. The Braves plan to have left-handed-hitting Kelenic compete for left-field duties with right-handed-hitting Vaughn Grissom in what figures to be a platoon, at least initially.

Kelenic is a solid defender and had a .295 average and .908 OPS in parts of five minor-league seasons, but hit just .204 with a .656 OPS in 974 plate appearances in 252 major-league games during the past three seasons. The Mariners thought he had finally turned a corner in his major-league career at the beginning of the 2023 season when he hit .343 with seven homers and a 1.121 OPS in his first 21 games. But he hit only .231 with four homers and a .655 OPS in his remaining 84 games, with 112 strikeouts in 312 plate appearances in that span, and the Mariners were not at all pleased when his noted temper got the best of him in a July incident in which Kelenic broke his foot kicking a water cooler, causing him to miss eight weeks. — David O’Brien, Braves senior writer

What this means for Atlanta

Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Kelenic’s arrival signals the end of their left-field pursuits this winter. They believe they can get reasonable and possibly strong production from the tandem of Kelenic and Grissom, 22, a top infield prospect who’s going to start playing left field in the Puerto Rican winter league beginning this month.

Grissom is blocked at shortstop and second base, and coming off an outstanding offense season in Triple A, the Braves want to get his bat in the lineup, so they had decided to do what they did with a couple of third basemen in the past — Austin Riley broke in at left field after playing the position for only a week in the minors, and Chipper Jones played left field for a couple of seasons early in the Hall of Fame third baseman’s career when the Braves had a need there.

The Braves like the upside of both players, and the five years of contractual control with Kelenic was a big factor in their willingness to part with Cole Phillips, a hard-throwing Texan who likely would’ve been a first-round draft pick in 2022 before tearing his UCL and having Tommy John surgery that April, which led to his slipping to the Braves in the second round of that draft. The Braves traded from a position of strength, and eight of their top 10 prospects are pitchers including five or six rated ahead of Phillips in various prospect lists. — O’Brien