This has been quite the offseason for the Atlanta Braves.
One of, if not the most important offseason acquisitions Alex Anthopoulos made heading into the 2024 season was trading for 24-year-old Jarred Kelenic from the Seattle Mariners. The Braves let 2021 NLCS hero Eddie Rosario walk after the 2023 season ended so they found themselves in need of a power-hitting corner outfielder. Anthopoulos got just that on December 3rd when he traded Cole Phillips and Jackson Kowar to the Mariners for Marco Gonzalez, Jarred Kelenic, and Evan White.
Kelenic recently hopped on Foul Territory's podcast on YouTube to discuss what it was like the first time he met with Anthopoulos.
"It was super refreshing cause it was just a no bull**** kinda mentality, like, he just said here's the situation, here's how we value you, this is what we think of you and we look forward to getting to know you more along the way and we know that you're gonna enjoy it here. I come from a family where it's, like, a no bull**** mentality too, like, I'm not afraid of the truth and I can hear it, just tell me. So, to hear that right away I knew after that first conversation that this was gonna be good for me. This was gonna be great."
Kelenic had his best season in the majors at Seattle last year before being placed on the injured list with a broken foot. He finished the year with a .253 batting average, a .327 on-base percentage, and a .746 OPS. He states that he can hear the truth, well here is the truth, the Braves chose him to be their starting left fielder. AA believes in his ability to live up to the hype that has surrounded his whole career. A clean slate in Atlanta should help him be more successful. I can't wait to see what kind of numbers he puts up in 2024.
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