Jarred Kelenic’s Braves Stint Ends: Anthopoulos’ Worst Move?

Earlier in the week, Jarred Kelenic was outrighted to Gwinnett and elected free agency, officially ending his short and forgettable stint with the Atlanta Braves. It was a gamble that never came close to working out for Alex Anthopoulos, and it begs the question: was the series of moves to acquire Kelenic the worst of Anthopoulos’ tenure in Atlanta?

When it was all said and done, the Braves essentially paid nearly $20 million to acquire Jarred Kelenic, a bargain if he had ever tapped into his potential, considering he came with five years of team control.

At the time, the move made some sense. Former hitting coach Kevin Seitzer had worked wonders, turning the likes of Travis d’Arnaud and Orlando Arcia into All-Stars, while Jorge Soler became a World Series MVP in Atlanta. On paper, Kelenic had even more talent. A former 6th overall pick and top-10 prospect in baseball, he had flashed that upside in Seattle before an immature run-in with a water cooler ended in a broken foot. Character concerns played a role in the Mariners moving on, but Braves fans never really saw those issues — Kelenic’s downfall in Atlanta was purely performance-based.

After a decent start in 2024, his production cratered, hitting just .173 with a .551 OPS over his final 61 games. The Braves were forced to seek help elsewhere, inking Jurickson Profar to a three-year, $42 million deal. But when Profar was suspended for 80 games, Kelenic had one last chance to prove himself, an opportunity that he failed to take advantage of.

After just 24 games this year, he was optioned to Gwinnett in favor of Eli White and Alex Verdugo. Things only got worse in Triple-A, where Kelenic recorded a paltry .595 OPS across 94 games. By season’s end, Anthopoulos had little choice but to cut ties, essentially admitting he had burned $20 million while left field remained a revolving door.

But was it Anthopoulos’ worst move? I’m not sure anything will ever top the Sean Murphy trade.

The Braves sent William Contreras — who has been twice as valuable as Murphy since the deal — along with three top prospects to Oakland in a three-team swap. While the prospects haven’t flourished, they held considerable trade value at the time. Atlanta could have leveraged them for a more impactful piece to help during their postseason runs.

The Murphy trade never made sense. Contreras was younger, cheaper, and had offensive upside Sean Murphy could never achieve. Including him in that trade was malpractice. Compared to that, wasting $20 million on a high-upside lottery ticket like Jarred Kelenic feels like a minor blip in the Braves’ recent fall from grace.

—